


(Y/n), I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative

by ClevaChloe



Series: (Y/n), I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative [1]
Category: Avengers (Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: (don't get me started on the Stones or the Infinity Gauntlet or THANOS), Alfheim, Amnesia, And Loki is part of that plan, Anton Yelchin - Freeform, BAMF Loki, BAMF Thor, BAMF Tony, Bisexual Loki, Blood, Bonding through telepathy, Brainwashing, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Bucky Barnes - Freeform, Bucky! - Freeform, Captain America Civil War - Freeform, Chitauri - Freeform, Civil War, Clint sorta ships you and Loki, Crying, Daredevil - Freeform, Doctor Stephen Strange - Freeform, F/M, Fan theories, Fighting, Flashbacks, Fluff, HELL YEAH CROSSOVERS, Hardly any Crimson Peak spoilers, I HAVE EMOTIONS AFTER SEEING THE AOU POST CREDITS SCENE, Ice skater Loki, Ice skater!Loki, It gets sad later on, Jane kinda doesn't like you, Jealousy, Kissing, LOKI NEEDS A HUG LATER ON AGAIN, Loki Needs a Hug, Loki and (y/n) sitting in a tree..., Loki crying, Loki doesn't see gender, Loki feels like Thor is always trying to one-up him, Loki gave you a nickname too, Loki ice skating, Loki in chains, Loki in prison, Loki is a dick, Loki is kinda your guardian angel in a way, Loki is rude, Loki swings both ways, Loki wants to 'go good', Loki's bi, Lust, Men Crying, Mentions of Crimson Peak, Mentions of Malekith, Mentions of Percy Jackson characters, Mentions of Rape, Mentions of Suicide, Mentions of the Infinity Stones, Meta, Multiple Crossovers, NO ACTUAL RAPE IN THIS, Name Calling, OCs - Freeform, Odin has a plan, Original Characters - Freeform, Overprotective Tony Stark, Percy Jackson References, Physical Torture, Previous wedding mentions, Protective Loki, Protective Thor, Psychological Torture, Queen Aelsa - Freeform, Reader Insert, Reader also kicks ass, Reader is kickass, References to Thanos, References to other Marvel shows, References to the Infinity Gauntlet, Romance, Seduction, Sigyn - Freeform, Slow Build, Smut, Sorry about all the tags, TONY STARK IS A DRAMA QUEEN, Tears, Teasing, Telepathy, The Guardians of the Galaxy - Freeform, The Sorcerer Supreme, The TARDIS - Freeform, Time Travel, Tony crying, Tony gave you a nickname, True Love, Verbal Abuse, Violence, Wanda vs Reader, You Thor and Loki go see Crimson Peak, You Thor and Loki ride the subway, You dont like Wanda, You get Loki in deep trouble, You get to visit Asgard, You get to visit Asgard twice, You go meta, You the Avengers and Pepper and Loki go to a wedding, You'll also need a hug, You're an Avenger, an Asguardian angel (hehehe), as per usual, boom - Freeform, but before Thor: The Dark World, but for not good reasons, but it was an accident, crossovers, cursing, deaf!Clint, doctor who - Freeform, mentions of the winter soldier, other fandom references, reader is female, some original characters - Freeform, telepathic bonding, things get pretty dark later on, this is after The Avengers, tom hiddleston - Freeform, tortured loki, you have powers, you honestly didn't know/remember, you're Tony Stark's niece, you're mean to Loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2018-04-28 16:29:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 61
Words: 170,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5097425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClevaChloe/pseuds/ClevaChloe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You. You're the niece of Tony Stark. You have powers over Darkness. And you're also an Avenger. Your life gets turned upside down when a certain raven haired prince walks into yours— and the Avengers' life. Eventually the two of you grow fond of each other, but like when most superhumans find love, they always get taken away from them.</p><p>Set after the events of 'the Avengers'</p><p> </p><p>THE TITLE WAS PREVIOUSLY (UNDER CONSTRUCTION), THIS IS THE SAME STORY BUT I FOUND A TITLE :D</p><p>I don't own any Marvel characters, or you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We All Have to Start Somewhere, Don't We?

(Y/n) Stark pushed aside the sliding glass door in your shower and wrapped a towel around yourself and exited the bathroom. You walked across the wooden floor to your bedroom and changed into pajama shorts and a tank top then went over to your living room and flicked on the tv to the news.

You stood there for a moment watching the screen before going back to the bathroom and raising the volume from the bathroom sink then rested the remote on the shelf on the wall. You listened to the television as you picked up your hairbrush and ran it through your hair a few times, then put it in a (preferred hairstyle). You squeezed out the minty toothpaste onto your toothbrush and proceeded to brush your teeth absentmindedly and stared at your reflection in the mirror as the news broadcaster said something about a ‘surprise Aurora Borealis’ on the Canadian-American border and some strange markings had appeared.

“ _What_?” You choked on some toothpaste then spit it out in the sink and rinsed out your mouth, setting down your toothbrush and getting the remote and rushing to the living room. You sat down on your couch and watched the re-aired news report.

“ _Yesterday_?” You muttered to yourself, “Dammit, I should’ve been contacted—”

you heard the window smash in your bedroom and you got to the ground as you heard the crunch of glass under shoes. You silently grabbed your Glock 19 that was strapped to the underside of your coffee table and flicked your wrist, blanketing the apartment in darkness immediately.

You stood in the pitch black and your night vision instantly kicked in. You silently crept into the bedroom to see who had decided to break into your apartment on such a nice evening.

It was a man, tall— about 6' 2"— wearing a loose fitting button down shirt and jeans, and handcuffs. He held out a hand and and a sudden green light burst over his open palm and you winced at the sudden brightness, drawing in a breath. Your eye’s re-adjusted as the light slowly went out.

You watched him silently, holding your breath as you crept up behind him. The man chuckled slightly, “I know you’re there.” He had a British accent,

“Come on out. I won’t h—” you grabbed the back of his neck with your left hand and swung around him, wrapping your legs around the mans’ middle and pinned him to the floor. You flicked her wrist and all the lights turned back on and stared at the intruder; he had short, curly blonde hair with a slight goatee, and a charming smile.

The smile faded as you pointed the gun at his face and he held up his cuffed hands, “Woah, woah woah, hold on. I won’t hurt you.” He said, his voice was as smooth as silk.

“Then why did you break into _my_ apartment?!” You asked, pressing the gun under his chin. He looked familiar, but couldn’t remember why.

“Look, there isn’t much time to explain, but whatever happens, whoever comes knocking, I’ve been here for at least an hour.”

“No! Why should I trust you? You broke into my apartment!”

The two of you heard a pair footsteps in the hallway heading to your apartment, then a knock on the door.

“Get up.” You said through gritted teeth, then swiftly got off of him and pulled him up by his neck and shoved him to the living room and gestured for him to stand behind the door with her gun, then opened the door.

 “Yes?” You asked.

A man and a woman fumbled as they took out FBI badges.

The man spoke with a Scottish accent, “We’re, um, the FBI. I’m Leo Fitz and this is my partner, Jemma Simmons.” “You’re awfully young to be FBI.” You said, then held out her hand to see the badges,

“O-of course.” Jemma stuttered, passing her badge to you the same time as Leo.

You looked closely at the badges before handing them back.

Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons.

Those names rung a bell in your head, but you shook it off then handed them back their badges,

“What do you need, agents?”

“We’re actually looking for someone. We saw him disappear into this building.” Leo said and Jemma nodded vigorously, she was obviously nervous.

Leo pulled out a crumpled picture of a man— a picture of the man who had standing in her apartment right then and there.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve seen him before.” You nodded, playing innocent. You put your gun in the back of your pants and reached behind the door and gripped the mans’ shoulder roughly.

“As a matter of fact, he’s right here.” You pulled the blonde man out from behind the door and shoved him to the agents.

“Here you go. He broke into my apartment using the fire escape.” You said as the man sheepishly smiled and shrugged, turning his palms upward.

“If there’s anything else you need—”

“No, no. That’s all, thank you.” Leo said, holding the man by his elbow and started walking down the hall. Jemma stood there for a moment and said, “You have served your country well.” Then saluted and followed Leo. You chuckled and closed the door, muttering, “What a night.”

You walked back to your room and looked around then groaned, saying that you would clean up the mess tomorrow, then went back to the living room and sat down on your couch, took the gun back out, clipped it back under the short table and laid down. You changed the channel to a comedy and set down the remote. A few seconds later your phone buzzed and you retrieved it from the table; it was a text— a group text— from your boss:

 

 

 Nick: Important meeting tomorrow at 0800 hours. I expect you all there bright and early, and not with a hangover Tony.

 

 

 You didn’t bother responding; whenever Nick sent out a group text it was usually a memo and nobody responded— all except for Tony:

 

 

Tony: Come on, Fury. It’s the weekend! Party time!

 

 

Nick: Bright and early, Stark.

 

 

Then after that Tony didn’t respond. You sat up with a sigh and shut off your tv and treaded to your bedroom and carefully stepped around the broken glass, pulling the curtains to block the open window and lazily flopped into bed.

A few seconds later you got a private text from Nick. You sat up and read it.

 

 

Nick: Read the file I just sent you. Memorize the information and come fully prepared tomorrow.

 

 

You set your phone on the nightstand and pulled open a drawer where your MacBook rested and pulled it out and opened it. You opened the email and double clicked the large folder, then several files opened and a few images and videos. Your phone vibrated loudly against the wooden table and you took it and saw it was another text.

 

 

Nick: And wear the suit we made for you. You’re part of the team now, you should look like it.

 

 

(Y/n): Yes sir.

 

 

You put your phone back on the nightstand and looked back at your computer. The pictures showed images of the same man; shoulder length raven hair, green eyes, and angular features. He was wearing strange green, gold and black armor, and in almost all of the pictures we wore a golden helmet with two, tall and curved horns. He looked familiar.

After a minute of skimming through the tabs that had opened you gathered that he was the one who destroyed New York and killed thousands, and about eighty or so more people in Germany. You had heard a lot about this, but since she had been living in (country not in North America or Germany) at the time, you hadn’t been fully informed on who did it.

In a picture where he was holding a long curved scepter it was captioned ‘Loki Odinson/Laufeyson, 2012.’ “Ok, ‘Loki’ let’s see what you did to piss off the Avengers.” You said to yourself then immersed yourself in the intense knowledge of the Norse god.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

The elevator doors opened to Stark Towers and you entered and pressed a button and the elevator shut and started to move upward. You looked into the mirror on the wall and checked out you uniform— which you hardly wore.

 It was similar to Natasha’s; black, one piece, thigh gun holsters, leather, S.H.I.E.L.D symbol on her right shoulder, but with a few adjustments. On your belt was a symbol of the Greek Hectate, the goddess of night, magic, necromancy, and moon.

“Good morning, (y/n).” Jarvis said through the speakers,

“Hey Jarvis.” You responded.

“You look very lovely today.” He complimented, making you blush,

“Thank you.” You said.

 The doors opened and you walked to the large table where Tony was pouring drinks for everyone. Clint, Steve and Natasha were wearing their uniforms.

Hearing footsteps he looked up smiled, “Hey there, Nightlight. Want some?” Tony asked, raising the whiskey decanter. You shook your head with a laugh.

Steve shook his head, “Tony, you know that’s not a very good example—” “to set on the future generation, blah, blah, blah.” Tony finished as you sat down in between Steve and Natasha.

“She’s a Stark. She’s able to handle her alcohol.” Tony said, pouring a drink for you and pushing towards you anyways. You chuckled but politely pushed the glass away.

You gave Clint, Natasha and Steve quick nods then played with a small loose fabric on your leather fingerless gloves as Bruce came down from one the back rooms and said hello to everyone and sat down in a chair next to Clint, who was sitting on the edge of the table eating an apple. You looked up suddenly then searched your surroundings then asked, “Hey, has any of you seen Thor?” They all shook their heads.

Everyone sat up straight as they heard the heavy footfalls of the boots that were, no doubt, Nick Fury’s.

“Morning, Avengers.”

You all nodded as he stood at the head of the table, his hands clasped behind his back.

“I’m sure that you’re all aware about the event yesterday morning.”

You all nodded. What was called ‘Aurora Borealis’ was actually someone using the Bifrost.

“Loki had decided to give us another visit.”

The Avengers tensed up, a few even grabbing their weapons. “But we have him in our custody. Which is why Thor isn’t here. After a few hours of Thor interrogating him, he has reported that their father, Odin, had cast Loki down here as a penance, and stripping away his powers. Once Thor was done talking to Loki he said that Loki wants to ‘turn good’ and— apparently in the future— would like to join.”

“Now why would he want to do that?” Bruce asked, adjusting his glasses, “There must be some angle he’s trying to get at.”

“Thor certainly thinks he’s telling the truth. But then again Loki _is_ the God of Mischief.”

Nick said, starting to pace.

“We’re obviously not going to let him join.” Nat said.

“Well...” You began.

“You’re not actually considering this?” Clint said, turning around to face you.

“Well he could give you guys—” “Us.” Steve corrected.

“ _Us_ intel on enemy aliens?”

“Thor could do that.” Clint said,

“Yeah, but does he know extensive knowledge on the bad guys?” You explained, “Loki could help us prepare if or when another alien species attacks us. He was working with the...” You mentally wracked your brain, looking for the word, “—Chitauri. Some MUST have survived and went back to wherever they came from. I mean, I know from what I’ve read that Loki used a wormhole to get the Chitauri here, but they could POSSIBLY be trying to trace where Earth is.”

“Again, something Thor could do.” Bruce said, leaning forward on the table and lacing his fingers together.

“Not with the Chitauri part.” You said, mirroring him. You looked to your uncle, “Don’t you think so?”

Tony swirled the golden brown drink in the short cup, “Uh, last time we talked he led aliens to destroy my tower— ultimately costing millions of dollars to rebuild, and threw me out of that—” he pointed to out to the ceiling to floor windows on his right, “window. Right there.”

Nick chuckled, “You all think you have a choice. The thing is, is that he’s already on a heavily armed Quinjet headed here.”

Everyone stared at him, the silence was so quiet they could hear the distant honking of cars and trucks on the street below.

“You’re serious.” Steve said, breaking the dead air.

“Very.” Nick stated,

“We had a specialist see if Loki was lying, he goes by the name Daredevil.” He stopped pacing and faced the team.

Bruce chuckled to himself and took off his glasses then looked at Nick, saying, “You _do_ understand that he’s the God of _Lying_.”

“Yes, but Daredevil has a very high sense of hearing. He could hear every heartbeat in this room if he were here, and with Loki he could tell that he wasn’t lying.” Nick told them,

“And I agree with (y/n). He could be a good ally, if given the proper training.”

“But we don’t know if he has a long term plan against us, so that when we put our guards down he’ll attack.” Natasha said.

“I don’t expect any of you to put your guards down. I expect you to trust me.” Just as Nick finished that sentence they heard a thud on the roof.

He smirked and walked to to elevator, pressing the button and entered when the door slid open he said, “Good day, Avengers.”

They all said bye to Nick, then the door shut and the elevator proceeded to go downwards.

As soon as that happened Tony put down his drink and immediately went around Steve and pulled out your chair and pulled you out, “Ok, you’re leaving now.”

“What? Tony, let me go!” You protested as he dragged you to the elevator, trying to pull your arm free from his grasp. Everyone’s eyes were on you two.

“No, (y/n). This is too dangerous. He KILLED innocent people.” Tony muttered the last part, frantically pressing the button to call the elevator, but it went to the roof.

“Son of a bitch.” He said quickly,

“Jarvis, override the elevator system.” Tony said, slightly looking up at the ceiling.

“Of course, Tony.” The elevator stopped on the third to the top floor.

 You had never seen your uncle worried like this, and he never called you by your first name unless he was dead serious.

“Jarvis, cancel previous command.”

“Of course, (y/n).” The elevator started moving up again.

“Seriously, Jarvis?” Tony asked, “You did give her access to my programming, sir.” Jarvis responded.

“Tony, please,” You begged, “I’m an Avenger now.”

“For only three months.”

“Yes, but unlike Loki right now, _I_ have powers.” You persuaded.

“She’s right, Stark.” Natasha said, getting out of her chair, “She’s had enough hand-to-hand combat training with me, she’s almost as good as I am.”

Tony pointed at the red-head, “You are no help.”

Then turned back to you and pulled you to the far end of the room where his bar and alcohol was, “You cannot be under the same roof as him, (y/n). He is dangerous, he is cunning, he is manipulative.” He lowered his voice, “I don’t know what he would do to you if he got loose.” Tony tucked a stray piece of your hair behind your ear.

“Then we make sure he doesn’t get loose.” You said.

You glanced at the elevator as it started to head to your floor, your eyes flicked back to your uncles’.

“I don’t want him to hurt you, in ANY way. I promised your mother that I would take care of you and protect you.”

“I know.”

“They’re here, sir.” Jarvis said over the speakers, then the elevator doors dinged open and Thor exited, guiding his brother with him. He had raven black, shoulder length hair and intense teal colored eyes.

“Good morning, my dear friends!” Thor bellowed, leading his brother to an empty chair and gently pushing him into it, then setting Mjölnir on Loki’s lap and greeted his teammates, giving them hugs and handshakes. When he started to make his way to Tony, Steve put a hand on the gods’ chest and just shook his head.

“Tony, _please_. I’m 22, I can take care of myself. If you love me, you can trust me.” You clasped your hands together and gave him the best puppy eyes you could muster. You stood like that before Tony sighed and pulled out a large bottle of strong liquor and poured himself a glass and said sharply,

“ _Fine_. But, you’ll have to live by my rules—” “Tony, she’s a grown woman.” Bruce interrupted, but either way you silently cheered,

“ _She will have to live by my rules_ ,” Tony started again, then turned back to you,

“ _first_ ; you will move into Stark Towers so I can keep an eye on you. _Second_ , you will _not_ be in the same room as Loki unless one of the other Avengers or I are with you, and Jarvis will be keeping an eye on you most of the time as well. _Third_ ,” he drank the alcohol then put the empty glass on the table,

“you’re going to bake me an apple pie every weekend.”

“Deal!” You said excitedly, hugging him tight and giving him a kiss on the cheek. You jogged around the bar and went to Thor.

“Hey, Thor!” “Hello Lady (y/n)!” He said, picking you up and spinning you, laughing.

Loki eyed you two suspiciously.

Thor set you down and gave you a hug then released you,

“How are you this fine morning?”

“I’m good. Had a little trouble going to sleep last night, though.”

“What happened?” Thor asked, crossing his arms.

“A guy broke into my apartment.” You said that so nonchalantly like you were talking about the weather. “What?” Tony asked, quickly turning around.

“I had it under control, Tony, it was fine. Then these Feds came and took him.” You explained. You and the Avengers noticed Loki snickering.

“What’s so funny?” Bruce asked, the God of Mischief smirked and shook his head,

“Nothing, except how easily I entered the home of an Avenger.” He said.

“That’s enough brother.” Thor said, taking Mjölnir off his brothers’ lap and hauling him to his feet. You rolled your eyes, “Please, you look nothing like him.”

There was a long stretch of silence before Loki smirked said, “A tall picture of a man in a tan coat was standing by your bed with a sign that read ‘I’m lost, please return me to the Winchesters’.”

And your face immediately burned with embarrassment. Thor lead him away behind the bar and up the stairs, Tony accompanied them.

They led Loki into a room with a similar containment Loki had been in when he tried to take over earth a year ago. Tony pressed a few buttons on a control pad and the large clear door slid open. “Ah, most good times with this.” Loki said sarcastically as he willingly stepped into the prison. Tony pressed another button and the door closed.

“Come with me.” Tony said, walking off to the side with Thor where Loki couldn’t hear them, and turned to the Asgardian.

“I do not want him near (y/n). Until we know what that sonovabitch really wants to do, he is under _your_ watch. Do you understand me Thor? I don’t want him to take the chance to hurt her.”

Thor looked at Loki, then to Tony. He put his hand on his chest and said,

“You have my word.”

 “Good.”

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

You turned back to the your other teammates and saw that Steve and Clint were trying to restrain their laughter.

You pointed a finger at them, “Hey! Supernatural is the best tv show. So what if I have a Castiel cut-out life size poster, huh?”

 

Then they burst out laughing.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Your Trophy

Loki sat on the couch in the round sunken in living room, his chin resting gently on his fist, Thor a couple feet away chatting with Tony and Bruce about space.

Natasha and Clint were out on a mission in some foreign country.

Steve was reading peacefully in his room, right next to yours.

You paced in your new room as you read aloud from Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Since you were an obscure member of the Avengers you were still able to roam about society without being noticed too much.

 

Loki, once again caught by boredom, got up and walked the halls. He heard a voice coming down the hall so he continued. He came to an open door and silently pressed himself against the wall,

“ ‘... so Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d’ ” he smirked to himself. She was reading from Shakespeare, one of his most favorite Midguardian writers. He peered into the room and saw one of the Avengers, (y/n), standing with her back to the door and reading off of a paper. He grinned.

“ ‘... which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name which is no part of thee Take all myself.’ ” You paused and flipped a page.

Loki stepped into the room, continuing the passage from Romeo’s part,

“ ‘I take thee at thy word: Call me but love’,”

You whirled around and saw Loki standing there, casually looking around your room,

“ ‘and I’ll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.’ ”

You stared at him before reading what you had memorized the last couple days, “ ‘What man art thou that thus bescreen’d in night So stumblest on my counsel?’ ”

Loki slowly walked around the perimeter of your room, picking up small items before putting them back,

“ ‘By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am: My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, Because it is an enemy to thee; Had I it written, I would tear the word.’ ”

You kept a watchful eye on him, even though he may not have powers he still could use things to his advantage, but you continued,

“ ‘My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words Of that tongue’s utterance, yet I know the sound: Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?’ ”

 

That’s when Loki broke character, he chuckled, “Very good.”

“What are you doing here?” You snapped, reaching for a notebook that Loki had, but he held it higher to he could read.

“You have very beautiful handwriting. It reminds me of my mothe— my _adoptive_ mother’s.” Loki said once you had snatched it from his hands then opened a drawer and put the notebook in there then shut it and turned to Loki, your arms crossed over your chest, “I asked you a question.”

“Once again I have been struck by boredom. My brother is always busy talking to that Iron Man and Banner. I have been around the so called ‘Avengers’ once before. But you’re the only one who eludes me.” He said, turning to you with a grin.

“So tell me, Ms. Stark, how did you come to work with the Avengers?”

“Hahahaha _no_.” You said, crossing your arms, “I know what you’re trying to do, Loki. I read your files. You’re trying to dig up some info on me, then once your plan has been formed, take me out, right?”

“Actually, quite opposite.” Loki said, sitting on your bed with Supernatural themed pillows and sheets.

He leaned against the powder blue metallic wall and crossed his legs at the ankles, “I’m your new teammate, according to Fury and Odin.” He said those names with hatred, especially Odins’.

Loki stroked his chin in concentration, then looked up at you and said, “Fine;” he huffed, “I will tell you my life story if you tell me yours.”

You raised an eyebrow at him and stood like that for a while before pulling up a chair, spinning it backwards and sitting in it. You rested your arms on the back of the chair and clasped your fingers together saying, “Alright. Just make sure you leave all the juicy bits in.”

He sighed, “I’m adopted. I’m not even from Asgard. I’m a Frost Giant, a Jötun.” He stared at his left hand cynically, then looked up and kept his eyes trained on the wall to his left.

From what you had read from the files recalled that they were monsters.

You didn’t let that define Loki, you knew all too well to never judge someone’s past or heritage.

“Odin had found me abandoned, alone, after a battle. He had taken me as to bring peace, an alliance between Jötunheim and Asgard.

   When I was at a young age my adopted mother, Frigga, taught me magick,” Loki swirled his hand, but nothing happened,

“But Odin stripped you of your magick.” You finished, Loki nodded.

“Growing up, I always felt different from everyone. Thor, Frigga, Odin. Odin loved Thor best, of course. The ‘ _Golden_ _Boy_ ’.” There was loathing in his voice,

“Everyone loved Thor.” Loki gritted his teeth.

He suddenly leaned forward and looked at you in the eyes and said, “Do you know what it’s like not even to be considered second best?”

You shook your head.

Loki scoffed and slumped against the wall, “Of course not.” He sighed bitterly,

“Frigga was the only one to show me compassion.”

“You say ‘was’. She probably does still love you.” You told him. He scoffed again,

“I tried to take over Earth. I slaughtered hundreds of people in my wake. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing left of me to be loved, now is there?” He talked to you like you were a child.

“Now here’s the juicy bit. Before arriving at Midgard I had been banished to the far reaches of space, only to be outnumbered and abducted by the Chituari, to be taken to their home world to be tortured and brainwashed. Locked away for months until they decided I was ready.”

You nodded, taking it all in, “So your telling me you’re really a fluffy bunny under all that evil and murder?” You asked, not really believing him.

Loki stared at you, but continued, “By the looks of it their plan failed miserably. Thor captured me, took me back to Asgard where Odin had sent me here.” Loki narrowed his eyes,

“Now it’s your turn. And make sure _you_ leave in the juicy bits.” You gave him a fake smile then adjusted yourself on the seat.

You cleared your throat, “My mom died when I had been born; a power outage cut off the medicine she needed. Even the backup generators were shut down.” You stared at him, he stared back at you,

“But don’t go crying over it.” You said harshly. He chuckled, purposely pissing you off,

“I wasn’t.”

You wanted to get up and slap him in the face then go to Thor and say that Loki had tried to attack you, but you said that you would tell him your life story.

You huffed, “My mom and Tony were best friends growing up, and he took me in as his niece.

  I discovered I have powers when I was eight,” you twirled you hand in the air, darkness appeared around your fingertips before slowly growing in size, it floated around your hand.

Loki sat forward, intrigued. “As long as there’s some form of darkness in the room, I can use it. I can do a lot with it. I can use it however I want.” You said, moving your fingers to make a completely black Mjölnir. You grabbed it then tossed it to Loki.

He caught it then held it in his hands, it weighed about five pounds. He inspected it, turning it in his hands before it suddenly gained extreme weight and fell right through him, the shadows dissipating. He looked surprised then leaned back against the wall, watching you with new interest.

“I can do other things with it, but that would be a long list of things.

   At one point when Tony had me in Europe I decided to see how much I could do with my powers. I went too far with it— used too much at once, I guess, or too much for too long— and got hurt. That’s how I figured out I can travel through the shadows, but if I stayed in that dimension for too long—”

“You start to die.” Loki finished. You nodded,

“Yeah. But,” you cleared your throat, “once Tony invented his suit he had me stay and move around secret countries that only super rich people know about. Then when he got recruited by Fury, he put me even FURTHER off the grid.

   Until a couple of months ago Fury decided to recruit me as well, ever since your big show with the aliens.”

Loki smirked at the memory.

“So now I’m an Avenger.”

He looked at you, analyzing what you had told him then said, “But why?”

“What what?”

“Why were you recruited?” Loki asked, sitting up, “The Iron Man—” “Tony.” You corrected. Loki sighed, “ _Tony_ , has his intelligence, which allowed him to create his suit.

My former servant—” “Clint.”

“has his quiver and arrows, very strong in hand-to-hand combat, as well as the Black Widow. Doctor Banner has his incredible strengths. Now what do you have?”

“I have my powers.” You said,

“I can fight, too. _Aaand_ , I have a trophy for the state championship Foosball tournament.” You nodded to the shelf that was on the wall above your bed. Loki rolled his eyes.

You noticed then said, “What? You think you can beat me? You probably don’t even know how to play.”

“I’m a fast learner.” Loki said, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“Still, _I_ , on the on the other hand have had _years_ of practice. I would beat you so fast you wouldn’t even know what hit you.” You replied.

“Oooh, I’d like to see that.” Loki provoked you, now sitting on the edge of the bed, your faces only inches away.

“You would, wouldn’t you? To get spanked by another Avenger.” You said with a smirk.

“Oh, you may not be able to.”

“Ok. We’re doing this. Now.” You said getting up, Loki followed suit.

You were about to leave the room when you stopped and groaned, Loki bumped into you then took a step back when you turned to him.

“What?”

You face-palmed and said, “Tony will see us walking together.” “And?” Loki shrugged,

“You are a villain. My _uncle_ , The _Iron_ _Man_ , has told you were not to be seen near me... That’s it!” You snapped your fingers in excitement,

“Ok, ok, ok. With my powers I can make darkness so dark and flat that even _light_ can’t enter and basically bounces off—” “Which means you can turn anything you want invisible.” Loki said, a smirk appearing when you nodded.

“Yeah. So just give me a second...” You made your hands dance in the air and darkness formed around the Norse god completely, then quickly twisted your wrist and the darkness immediately turned invisible.

“Did it work?” Loki asked. “Yes, and it went very well.” You muttered to yourself, circling the spot where Loki was unseen, checking for any gaps you might have missed.

When you find none you stood back where you had made the enchantment and said, “Ok, we’re all good. Follow me and stay quiet.”

You strode out of you room and turned left, going down the hall that lead out next to the bar area and the lounging room.

   You couldn’t even hear Loki’s footsteps, so you glanced back and turned on your night vision ever so slightly and saw Loki still following you. You sighed and turned it off then turned back to the lounge room where you saw Tony with a hologram of the galaxy.

Thor was pointing things out and Bruce provided information.

“Hey, guys!” You said, but none of them payed any attention.

“What are you doing?” Loki asked, approaching you,

“Is that nervousness I hear in your voice. Joking. Just letting Tony know where I’m going so he doesn’t freak.” You muttered to him, the raised your voice again, “Tony?” Your uncle still didn’t hear you.

You sighed then rolled your eyes. You leaned against the bar table and said in a monotone voice, “Oh no. I accidentally dropped Tony’s Macallan 1946 malt whiskey that’s been fermenting over a hundred years.” Tony instantly whipped around and screamed, “No, God, why—!?” then he saw it was only you.

He stared at you, breathing hard. You couldn’t tell, but you thought you saw tears in his eyes. You stood up straight and held your hands up with a smile, “Sorry, sorry. No whiskey was harmed in the making of this joke. I just wanted to let you know that I was gonna play Foosball.”

“Ok, but you didn’t have to try to kill me to let me know. I’m just gonna make sure that it’s still there...” Tony muttered that last part to himself as he briskly walked over the the bar and crouched behind it, pressing his thumb print to a sensor and the panel opened. He pulled out a box with a lock and pulled a key out from his pocket and inserted it in the lock, twisting it halfway to the right and a complete 360 degrees to the left. He opened the lid and saw that the alcohol was safe and sound. He sighed lovingly and closed the lid, performing all the steps backwards then getting up and looked at you.

“Ok. Go play your precious Foosball.” He turned to walk away then stopped and said, “Wait, Clint isn’t here. Who are you gonna play Foosball with?”

You paused, “Uh... All I need is a pair of hands, right?” You twirled your fingers and a pair of dark floating hands appeared, then dissipated.

“Make sure you don’t use those for anything else.” He said,

“Tony! That is disgusting.” You said, shuddering.

You saw him stare at the collection of alcohol on multiple shelves then took a shuddering breath. You went to him and rubbed his back, “Oh, my poor baby.” You said in a mocking tone then kissed him in the cheek. Thor and Bruce chuckled.

Tony quickly wiped his eyes then turned to you and said, “Just so you know, if you really had dropped that whiskey you would’ve been a murderer.” And with that he turned back and went to Thor and Bruce. “You’re such a diva!” You laughed, “And don’t you forget it.” He responded.

You waved to Thor and Bruce before leading the invisible Loki across the room and into a larger room filled with games; ping-pong, air hockey, Guitar Hero (basically any and all Wii games), a Iron Man themed pinball machine, Pac-Man, a billiards table, a dart set, the list went on.

You shut the door slightly and removed your illusion on Loki and guided him over to the Foosball table and explained the game to him. You won the first two matches, then the rest were all Loki’s.

Multiple times you had screamed in frustration. About two hours later you had enough of this and roughly opened the door and stomped out of the room.

“Thor Odinson!” You shouted. “What’s wrong, Lady (y/n)?” He asked, the three men turned to face you. You pointed at the game room just as Loki exited as well, chuckling.

“I want that brother of yours _out_! Send him back from wherever he came from!”

Tony hurriedly went to you, checking if you were hurt.

“Has he harmed yo—” Thor began, but you cut him off and shrugged away from Tony, “I’m fine!” You snapped,

“Then what seems to be the problem?” Bruce asked, standing up straight and crossing his arms; Steve had come out of his room when he heard the shouting.

Loki crossed his arms, “It seems to me that I had beat her thirty times in a row at this game of—” “He beat me in Foosball, alright?! Now I want him gone!”

Everyone— except you— had a smile on their faces. Tony was the one who finally chuckled and pulled out his phone, holding it to his ear and said, “Clint is _not_ going to believe this.” He walked back over Thor and Bruce with a smile on his face. “I thought you wouldn’t want her near Loki.” Bruce said. Tony nonetheless smiled and turned to watch his niece stare down the God. “She’s always had that rebellious streak. She gets it from her mother no doubt.” He said proudly. 

You gritted you teeth and was about to turn around when Loki cleared his throat, “And I do believe that trophy belongs to _me_ now.” He said, a sly smile on his face. You glared at him. And that’s how you two officially met.


	3. Beware of Crimson Peak

Lady (y/n)!” Thor boomed, walking over to you, “Yeah, Thor?” You said, looking up from doodling on a napkin. You sat on the bar stool leaning on the metal counter in Tony’s kitchen that was on the opposite side of the room of the bar.

“On the... magic box, it showed a man that looked eerily similar to Loki. It was very amusing.” He chuckled.

“He did not look like me!” Loki said, glaring at the television. He was sitting on the couch, his arms crossed.

Thor glanced behind himself at his brother with a small smile before turning to you,

“It was about this maiden who lived in a tower and there were mysterious happenings.” Thor explained.

You stretched your arms over your head, “Oh, yeah. ‘Crimson Peak’. Heard of it. It’s with Mia Wasikowska and... Yeah, that guy who looks like Loki. Do you wanna go see it? It’s out in theaters.”

“Yes, of course.” He grinned, “Thank you.” He turned around and was about to walk away, but he faced you again saying, “What’s a theater?”

You kindly explained to him that it was a building where they played movies; then you explained what a movie was.

“Loki. We’re going to see a movie.” Thor said, grabbing him by his arm and making him stand,

“A what?” He asked, impatiently.

As you got you got your jacket that was hanging on the back of your chair you realized that Loki would have to come as well, and you internally groaned. You were getting tired of all his little pranks— sure, he was giving you and the rest of the Avengers information that you all needed, but he always gave you a harder time; like stealing your car keys, finishing a Rubix Cube in seconds right in front of you when you had worked on it for months, adjusting the hinges on your door so that when you opened it it would fall off, the list went on.

You pulled your jacket over your (casual clothes) then called out, “Oh, Thor, Loki, you guys have to change into more... Midgaurdian clothes.”

They turned to you.

“I mean, it’s not like you guys don’t look freaking awesome in those. You do.”

Thor and Loki glanced at each other, “It’s just people would instantly recognize you, then there’ll be a mob...”

“Of course. Loki,” Thor said, walking alongside his brother to their rooms.

A few minutes later the two Asgardians came back; Loki in a black v-neck shirt and dark green hoodie on top, Thor in a grey t-shirt under a bright red hoodie. The latter had a big grin on his face and spread his arms,

“Nice. You two are very convincing humans.” “Thank you, Lady (y/n).” Thor said.

You noticed the black backpack he had hanging over on one shoulder. The three of you strode to the elevator, “What’s in the bag?” Thor subtlety nodded to his brother. You mouthed ‘oh’ and pressed the button.

Thor was carrying Loki’s handcuffs.

“And where are you off to this evening, (y/n)?” Jarvis asked.

You answered as Thor and Loki stepped next to you, “Just heading out to the movies with Thor and Loki.”

“Shall I inform Mr. Stark that you’re leaving.” The elevator dinged open, “Uh, sure.” You said.

The doors opened and the three of you entered. You pressed the button to the first floor and the door closed and proceeded to move down.

“Would you like me to ready a car?” Jarvis asked.

“No, we’re gonna take the subway. Thank you, though.” You said.

You wanted to take Thor and Loki through the subway so they could see what it was like being in the subway.

A few seconds passed. “How are you this day, Lady (y/n)?” Loki asked in a condescending voice, leaning behind Thor to see you.

You ignored him as Thor grabbed him by the crook of his arm and shook his head disapprovingly.

The doors opened on the street level and the three of you walked across the large quiet lobby, your footsteps echoing. You held the door open for the two men as they stepped out into the crowded street.

“This way.” You said, walking toward the nearest train station to catch the 5 train.

You walked down the steps and heard Thor quietly talking to his brother. You reached inside your back pocket for your MetroCard. You turned around and saw the princes looking around curiously.

“Why is it so dirty?” Loki asked.

“Because, Loki, some people don’t care about keeping this beautiful city clean.” You explained.

“So this,” you held up the MetroCard, “is a— Thor?”

The blonde prince slowly teared away from the MetroCard Refilling machine. He looked at you, you continued,

   “this is a MetroCard. You use it as a form of money to travel by trains and buses. You slide it in here,” you stepped over to the turnstile and swiped the card through a card scanner, there was a beep, and you walked through the turnstile.

Thor nodded slowly. “And you walk through. Simple as that. Now it’s your turn.”

You could hear the train approaching on the opposite track.

You handed the card to Thor and told him which way to slide it. He swiped it, a beep, and he pushed Loki through, then did it for himself.

You guided them down the platform a little ways, you could sense Loki silently judging every little thing and you sighed, stopping and saying, “This is fine.”

“What do we do now?” Thor asked.

“We wait for the train.” Loki huffed and crossed his arms.

“Do not be so irritated, brother.” Thor said, clapping his brothers’ shoulder.

“We go to see a movie. In a theatre.” He said excitedly. You felt the wind of the oncoming train before it arrived and took a few steps back. “Here comes the train.” You said.

It rushed by, the metal tires screeching against the tracks as it slowed down. You led them a little further as the train slowly came to a stop. The doors opened and a flood of people rushed out.

Some people looked at Thor and Loki, recognizing them for a second but were pushed along with the crowd before they could recognize them.

Once a large portion of the crowd was out of the train, you, Thor and Loki entered. You pointed at a framed map on the wall, “So we’re here. Then we’ll go,” the you three of you jolted as the train started to move then grabbed the metal pole that was attached to the ceiling horizontally.

   You got more sturdier footing as you traced your finger along a line, “here. Then transfer to the L train and get off at Lorimer street. Then once we get back to the street, walk a few blocks to Williamsburg Cinema.”

“Sounds like a plan, Lady (y/n).” Thor said, turning to you and smiling, you returned the expression.

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________

 

 

Three stops later the trio of you got off the train, up some stairs and went to where a sign said where to get the L train, then went down some more stairs, then ran to catch the train.

The three of you slowed down and entered the train, quickly entering as the doors slid shut. The three of you sat down, catching your breath. Once the three of you were situated on the train, Thor began to laugh, and soon you joined in.

“Have I missed something?” Loki asked, turning to face the two of you.

Then you laughed harder. Once you were able to breathe again you got up and went to another map that was situated above a two person seat. Thor and Loki followed you, the latter one did it with a sigh.

“So,” you giggled as the train came to another stop, “now we’re on the L train. And we have four stops until we get to Lorimer.” You explained. The train doors opened, people got on or off, the doors closed, then the train began to move again.

The three of you held on to a metal pole again. “We may have a problem.” Loki said in a hushed tone.

You turned around and saw a few people with their phones out, either taking pictures or video, but most— when seeing Loki— were trying to get into the other train car. Thor nodded politely and smiled at them, you sighed. You reached the inside pocket in your jacket and pulled out your badge, a S.H.I.EL.D. badge, showing it to the people,

“It’s alright everyone. I’m part of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” that wasn’t a complete lie. “He’s under our watch; completely harmless. See?”

You began to rub your hand under Loki’s chin and cheeks.

“(Y/n), I do not think that would be wise.” Thor muttered. Loki glared daggers at you, but you simply smiled at everyone else.

You removed your hand and put your badge away as the train lurched at the next stop. People got on and off, but the car remained almost always empty. The train stopped at 3rd Ave. and the doors slid open and a drunk young man staggered onto the car. ‘ _It’s too early to get drunk_ ’ you thought. He leaned over next to you, putting himself between you and the Asgardians, and tried to read the map, his body pressed against your right side.

‘ _It’s fine. He’ll move_.’ You mouthed to Thor, seeing that he had stood up more straight and his eyebrows furrowed together.

The drunkard asked, “How do I get to 1st Aveanue?” His words slurred together.

“Next stop.” You said.

He nodded, leaning into your personal space but continuing to look at the map, the train wheels clicking and clacking against the track as it raced to the next stop.

The sign for 1st Ave. blurred by as the conductor out the brakes on.

“My place is there. Wanna come with me?” The drunk guy asked. “No thanks.” You said. The train slowed to a stop. The doors opened.

“C’mon baby. Let’s go.” He said, grabbing your ass. You were about to slap him but Loki beat you to it.

But he punched him.

And sent him flying out of the train and landing on the platform a good ten feet away.

“Loki!” You and Thor said. He grabbed his brothers’ arms, restraining him from running off the train and beating the drunk. People fled off the train car.

“ _Stop_!” You said, roughly grabbing Loki’s shoulder.

You could hear him make a very low growl in the back of his throat, a snarl was on his face as he glared murderously at the drunkard who lay on the ground with a crowd around him. “Get him in the cuffs.” You told Thor, he firmly nodded, then you sprinted off the train and shoved your way to the man who lay on the ground.

You knelt down and pressed two fingers to his throat.

He still had a pulse.

You let out a long shaky breath and ran your hand over your face, “Oh, thank god.” You muttered.

“What the hell is going on?!” A police officer asked.

“He’s alive.” You said, standing up, “I’m with S.H.I.EL.D. You should get him to a hospital, he might have a concussion.”

“Let me see some I.D.” She asked.

You sighed for provably the thousandth time today and handed it over. The police officer looked at it then handed it back to you. “Fine. Are they with you?” She pointed to Thor and Loki, who seemed to be talking to another police officer. “Yes.” You said, then sprinted over to them.

The officer was using his walkie talkie while Thor was trying to explain that Loki was here legally. “What’s going on?” You asked the officer.

“He’s not supposed to be here. We have orders from the CIA—” “Well _I_ have orders from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury. Loki is here legally, and has been stripped of all his weapons and powers.” You told him, “Who the hell are you anyways?”

“I’m an Avenger. Call your commissioner. Give him my name; (y/n) Stark—” “Wait. As in Tony Stark’s niece, (y/n) Stark?” He asked, his eyes growing wide.

“Yeah. Tell your commissioner my name and ask him if I’m part of the Avengers. Then ask if Loki is here legally.”

Officer Harris did as she was told; having to talk to multiple officers in higher ranking before getting to his commissioner. He hung up with a “yes sir” then saluted to you.

“I’m sorry for all the problems I gave you. My apologies from me and my entire squadron.”

“It’s alright. Just get that guy to a hospital.” You said. Officer Harris lowered his hand from his forehead and turned to go help his parter.

“Officer Harris,” you called out, he turned around.

“You might as well check that guy if he’s had any records of groping or sexual assault.”

“Yes ma’am.” He tipped his hat to you then began to control the crowd. After a minute the train doors slid shut and the train started to move forward. You turned to Loki, who had Asgardian handcuffs and was sitting next to Thor.

You stood in from of the raven haired prince and pressed your hands together and said sternly, “Why did you do that?” He looked at you incredulously, then turned away and shook his head. “Why?!” You grabbed his chin, forcing him to look straight at you.

“I saw a man doing wrong. I made a right.” He said, shaking himself out of your hand. “You don’t just punch someone!” You shouted, “I was going to slap him! Hard! God, Loki, you could’ve killed him! But what do you care?” You gritted your teeth and decided to say things you had bottled up for a while.

You turned to Thor, he looked at you with a confused face, “And your father is an idiot for thinking that sending him here to have a play-date with the Avengers would ‘ _fix_ ’ ” you made air quotes with your hands, “him. I mean, _come_   _on_! Sending his down to the _same_ planet where he _killed_ people and tried to _rule_? People like him,” you gestured to Loki with both of your hands, “will _never_ change! Villains and monsters like _him_ , will never change!”

You groaned and leaned your forehead on the metal pole, the coldness soothing your oncoming headache. You sighed and muttered, “We should have taken a car.”

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

The three of you sat in silence in the train, heading back to Stark Towers. Thor sat in between you and Loki. The three of you were very shook up since the scene between Edith and Sir Thomas Sharpe.

That is, the wedding night consummation scene.

At first you had thought it was going to be a normal gothic horror movie. You and Thor— and eventually Loki— realized how much the actor that plays Sir Thomas Sharp, some guy called Tom Hiddleston, looked exactly like Loki and even sounded like him. They could’ve been twins.

That did not come in handy when Edith and Sir Thomas were having some _personal_ time.

You and Thor were permanently scarred for life.

Thor awkwardly cleared his throat then said, “It had an interesting plot.”

“Yes, yes, ghosts.” You agreed quickly, nodding and keeping your eyes focused on the ceiling. You rested your elbows on your knees and buried your face in your hands and groaned,

“That movie was... Who, who writes something like that?”

“The parts with the undead were interesting.” Thor said.

You sat up straight, “Yeah, yeah. Those parts were cool, the part with the mystery—” “Except the relationship between Sir Thomas and Lady Lucille.” Thor interrupted, “Oh, god. Yeah, that was... Just, no.” You shuddered.

You happened to glance at Loki and his gaze met your before he turned away.

The two of you stopped talking, listening to the screeching of the metal wheels and feeling the train car wobble back and forth.

 

Loki never made any pranks to you anymore after that.

 

 

That was your second major experience with Loki.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

The next day you were walking around Stark Towers, barefoot in your pajamas. “Mornin’ (y/n).” Hawkeye said.

   He was standing at the island in the kitchen finishing up his blueberry pancakes. He was completely dressed in his uniform, _must be going out on a mission_ , you thought.

“Morning, Clint.” You said.

He placed his plate and utensils in the dishwasher. You sat down in the sunken living room and turned on the news. You sat forward when you heard the news anchor say your name.

Clint walked to you and watched the tv, “Did she just say—” you shushed him and turned up the volume. The news anchor continued to say how you were a new addition to the Avengers. They talked a bit about you, then you shut off the tv, seething.

The only person who knew were an Avenger was Officer Harris. And the only reason that Officer Harris was in your life was because Loki had punched that perv. “I hate Loki.” You said through gritted teeth.

 

Clint nodded, “Don’t we all.”


	4. I Write Sins, Not Tragedies pt 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you couldn't really get an image of what kind of dress you were wearing http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/1908145922/Free-Shipping-Strapless-Long-Chiffon-Coral-Bridesmaid-Dress-Sashes-2013.jpg but the dress is deep green and the sash is gold. <3

 

 

Ok people, let’s move it!” You shouted, pacing on the roof of Stark Towers. The wind blew your hair around your face.

Tony, Pepper, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Thor and Loki were all carrying luggage bags and placing it next to a man with a suit before boarding the helicopter with the name ‘Stark’ painted bright on the side.

You waved to the assistant/pilot then bounded up the small steps into the furnished quinjet and sat down in one of the multiple tan leather chairs, once everyone was inside they did the same. The pilot finished putting the luggage under the quinjet and climbed inside as well. He turned to the seven of you and clasped his hands behind his back and said, “I am your captain for today. And I hope that you all have an excellent flight.” He nodded curtly then opened a door to the cockpit and shut it and locked it behind him. The The six of you were— from Pepper— invited to a wedding.

Except Loki.

But he was forced to join as well. Bruce wasn’t going, due to him being called in for a science meeting in Europe.

“I can’t wait. (y/n), Nat, you two are going to have such a great time.” Pepper gushed, Tony gently pulled her onto his lap as the quinjet was taking off.

You and Natasha were going to be bridesmaids for Pepper’s close friend, Mary.

Thor was grinning from ear to ear, “Tis a merry time. Friend’s are joining in marriage,” he waved his hand to his brother, who was calmly staring out the window next to Thor,

“Loki has confided in me for his feel—” Loki’s hand shot out and dug his nails into Thor’s arm with a death grip and gave him a look that said ‘do not say another word or I will gut you’ then Thor dropped it.

Everyone didn’t mind since they were doing their own thing; Tony playing on his phone, Clint was fixing some tips of his arrows, Natasha was seated next to him and was staring out the window humming a Russian song, you were reading (favorite book), Steve and Pepper gave him a confused look but let it go as well.

You and the Avengers had met Mary a few times before the engagement; she was a wealthy girl and was going to college to become a lawyer, that’s where she met her fiancé, Shane, who was born in Indiana and was going to inherent some land where he grew up on once his parents would die.

You were flying to Indiana for the wedding that would take place in a hotel with a large ballroom. You and the Avengers had had already flown to Indiana to get fitted for your attire; men in suits and the women in dresses. It only took a few minutes before the quinjet landed in the parking lot of the hotel.

The owners didn’t mind, of course, because the Avengers were staying at THEIR hotel.

The pilot got out first and opened up the small set of stairs and popped open the luggage carrier and handed your suitcases to each of you one by one. Since you were the first off you waited for the rest of you teammates. You turned around and saw the pilot hand Pepper a suitcase then proceeded to hand it to Tony.

You rolled your eyes as Steve and Natasha stopped next to you, “He’s such a drama queen.” You said. Nat nodded as Steve chuckled, “Don’t we know it.”

Everyone started heading to the front door as the quinjet started taking off.

You smiled as you began to tell him a story, “Oh, so you know when Loki beat me in Foosball a couple months ago?”

“Who wouldn’t?” He gave you a smile as you all got on the sidewalk.

“Smartass.” You said jokingly, “When I had snuck Loki into the game-room I had joked to Tony that I had accidentally dropped one of his most precious whiskies and he actually started crying.” Natasha tilted her head to the side slightly saying, “I could see that.”

“That’s actually a misconception.” Tony said, quickening his pace to be in front of you so he would be the first one in.

You noticed at the front door that there were giant squirrel statues.

The doors slid open and the owner of the hotel came up to all of you. A few of the doormen came up and put your bags on a trolley then rolled it away behind a door.

You glanced around the entry way, it had the same layout as Embassy Suites in Secaucus New Jersey where you stayed for a Supernatural convention.

“Hello and welcome. I am Jenneka, but you can call me Jen. I’m the owner of this hotel. Our staff and I are so grateful that the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are staying at our hotel.”

She turned around and started walking, everyone knew instinctively to follow her. “We have cleared out ALL the rooms for maximum privacy,” she began, leading them to an elevator with glass walls so you could see out into the atrium. Jenneka waited for all seven of you to get crammed inside the elevator.

She pressed the button for the fifth floor.

“You have a very lovely hotel, Miss.” Steve said.

“Thank you.” She blushed. Tony eyed Jen in her black pencil skirt and cardigan over a dark blue shirt. Pepper nudged him as the elevator doors opened and they all exited.

Jenneka stood next to the doormen who had the luggage carts with all their suitcases. She stood in front of them with her hands clasped in front of her. “We blacked out all the other rooms in the hotel —except the ones where the other guests are staying for the wedding— for your maximum comfort.”

“Not very good, money-wise.” Tony said.

“We know. But for the Avengers, I’m pretty sure anyone would do anything for you.” Jen said, adjusting her glasses. “So, any room on the entire fifth floor is yours to choose from.”

She then remembered something then pulled out a dozen key cards and let each of you pick, “Any room number that ends with an even number it has two beds and if it`s an odd number the room has one bed.” Once you all had a key card she said, “And we hope you have a pleasant stay.” She waved goodbye then entered the elevator once more and pressed a button and the doors closed.

“Ok...” Tony began, then got on the cart where his luggage was and pulled Pepper on with him and wrapped one arm around her waist while the other held the golden pole, “Onward, sir. To room...” He looked at the key card, “523!” Tony said, then the doorman pushed it to the designated room.

Clint shook his head then turned to the redhead, “Wanna bunk with me?” She shrugged then turned left, following the numbers counting down to 514, Clint and the doorman with their luggage trailed them.

You found your room, 517. You smiled at the doorman as you walked down the hall in the same direction Tony had went and found your room.

You pressed the card against the scanner and a green light appeared, you pressed the handle down and pushed the door open, immediately stepped into the darkened living room.

You flicked on the light switch by the door and you picked up your bags from the cart and thanked the man before closing the door and crossed the living room to get to the bedroom; you took note of the red couch and coffee table to your right and the tv on the desk to your left. You trudged to the bedroom and dropped the bags beside the bed and flopped down onto the mattress with thick blankets. You wanted to get some sleep, considering it was seven a.m., you wanted to get some sleep before the ceremony started at one p.m..

You burrowed yourself under the white blankets and tucked your hand under your head. You heard a thud in the room the headboard of the bed was pressed against, room 516.

You assumed it was Thor setting down Mjölnir. You ignored it as you willed yourself to sleep.

   Then you heard your name be said and you immediately sat up, staring at the wall. When you heard more talking you pressed your ear to the wall, but you couldn’t hear anything except murmurs. You scoffed then laid back down and finally went to sleep, your last thought was wondering why Thor and Loki were talking about you.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

You slipped on the deep green dress then tied on the gold sash around your waist. Once you were finished you grabbed your high-heels and walked barefoot to the carpeted living room. You could hear people talking and walking up and down the halls as you strapped the thin leather strap around your ankles and stood, grabbing the hotel key card and put it in your hand purse. You walked over to the door and opened it to see Steve there, his hand raised as he was about to knock.

“Oh, hey. I was just about to come and get you.” He smiled, “You look so great.” He said, slightly blushing.

“Thank you. You look handsome as well.” You said.

He was wearing a black suit with a tie, just like all the other men, but was also wearing a vest underneath.

Except Loki.

He exited from his room he shared with Thor and you immediately took notice.

He was wearing a suit and tie? Yes.

Did he look absolutely hot in it? Yes. But what topped it off was the scarf with geometric patterns he was wearing underneath it.

“Captain.” He nodded to Steve, Steve nodded in greeting. “Lady (y/n).” Was all Loki said to you.

“Where’s Tony?” You asked, “He’s downstairs in the lobby, along with Clint, Nat, and Pepper. Everyone already left. He didn’t want to leave without you.” Steve explained as the two of you walked to the elevator.

“Crap, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to delay anyone.” You said, feeling guilty. Steve pressed the button and the elevator moved upwards. “Greetings, Captain Rogers. Lady (y/n).” Thor said. You swallowed your disdain and faced the blonde Asgardian.

It wasn’t that you hated him— you loved him like family— but you weren’t particularly fond of what followed.

He shook hands with Steve as the four of you entered the elevator.

Thor looked at you, “You look very elegant this day, Lady (y/n).” He said, then took your hand and kissed the back of it before lowering it and saying, “The Gods’ would be honored if you were in their presence.” You blushed, “If you keep giving out these enormous compliments, I’ll have no idea to respond with, Thor.” You said playfully, Steve chuckled silently.

“I shall try, Lady (y/n).” He said with a grin, the elevator doors opened and all of you exited. Thor turned to Loki, “Doesn’t she look splendid, brother?” The God of Mischief only raised an eyebrow as they all approached the rest of the group. You broke away from them and went to Tony and Pepper.

“Wow, Pepper, you look so beautiful.” You said, then gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“You look amazing too.” She responded, touching your arm. You shook your head, “No, no, I can’t pull it off like you do.”

“And if you were able to pull it off like Pepper, someone would be grounded. And if someone were able to pull it off like Natasha, that same someone would be locked in their room.” Tony said, walking arm in arm with Pepper. She swatted his arm when he said that, “Tony!”

“Mr. Stark, your limousine is waiting for you outside.” Jenneka said from behind the desk. He nodded and you and Pepper said thank you for him as all of you left. There was a long black stretch car with heavily tinted windows waiting for them just at the curb.

Tony opened the door to the back of the car and held it open for his girlfriend, niece, and Nat, then got inside after. Clint was the last one in and he closed the door behind himself. The bottom of the seats were lined with bright LED lights that changed color. 

Once the car started moving, Tony said, “Now, who wants some beer?” There was a mixture of yeses and he opened the mini fridge. He passed the beers to everyone, except to Pepper, whom he gave some wine to. “To Mary and Shane, a happy new couple.” Pepper toasted. They all clinked their glasses together and drank.

“Whoa, (y/n). I thought you didn’t drink.” Clint said after seeing you take a sip.

“Oh, yeah. I do. Only on special occasions.” You said, the car made a left turn.

“So that time in Austria was a ‘special occasion’?” Natasha asked, a small smile on her face. “Don’t remind me.” You muttered, resting your face in your free hand.

“Uh, what’re you talking about?” Tony asked, leaning in front of Pepper.

“Nothing, nothing.” You said quickly, then taking a sip of your beer.

“What happens in Austria, _stays_ in Austria.” Steve said, and your face instantly turned red with embarrassment.

Loki noticed that.

“Agreed.” Thor said, then nervously took a sip of his beer as you got even redder.

“Can you guys stop talking, you’re making it worse.” You mumbled.

“Wait, wait, wait, when were all of you in Austria together?” Tony asked.

“We’re here, Mr. Stark.” The driver said, lowering the divider.

“Thank you good sir.” Tony said, then reached over and tipped him a hundred dollar bill. The driver thanked him graciously as Clint opened the door and exited.

Everyone got out and stood on the curb of the parking lot. The driver lowered the passenger side window and waved to Tony before driving away. “Once this is over you ALL are going to tell me what happened in Austria.” You bit your lip then tucked your purse under your arm as you walked to the front doors of the Indiana Roof Ballroom. Impressive, you though.

Thor held open the doors for all of you. Pepper checked all of you in with the Brown-Jackson wedding. A man told all of you where things were.

The ballroom; straight ahead. The bathrooms; to the left of the ballroom. You all thanked him and headed to the ballroom. There were about a hundred tables close to the walls and stage, leaving a single stable for the cake in the center of the gap on the floor for dancing. You were all table 27, somewhat close to the stage.

Most of the people were sitting down at their tables, the band was tuning up as a few more stragglers were getting in the ballroom. You found your name-card and sat in between Natasha and Tony. The men simply plucked off their name-cards then headed over to the bar.

“Hey,” Pepper said, turning in her seat to put her hand on Tony’s waist. “Hmm?” He looked down at her.

“Don’t overdo it, ok?” She said quietly. He nodded then kissed her on the forehead and they all left to the minibar.

Except Loki.

Thor pulled over another chair from a different table and placed it across from you and him into it. Thor talked low into his brothers’ ear, gestured to Natasha, you and Pepper. Loki set his jaw and glared at Thor. The older brother gripped his younger brothers shoulder tightly. Loki shut his eyes and gritting his teeth, he nodded. Thor clapped him on the shoulder and Loki opened his eyes, then went to join his friends at the bar.

Thor said something which earned a round loud laughter, and a round of shots from Tony.

Loki stared at you intensely, his green eyes watching your every movement as you tried to find something else to distract you.

“Hey, how about you make her stop feeling uncomfortable.” Pepper snapped. Loki turned to her, Pepper held your hand across from Tony’s seat. Gentle music started playing and the male Avengers decided that was their cue and headed back to the table.

You and Pepper let go of each other hands when Tony sat down in between you two. When everyone was sitting down the band started to play ‘Here Comes the Bride’.

Everyone turn to watch Mary enter the ballroom through the side door, being led by her fathers. They took her to Shane, who was on the stage with his groomsmen. The music stopped when Mary gave her fathers a hug and a kiss then went to Shane and held his hand under flower-wrapped arbor. The minister began the service.

Mary and Shane gave their vows, put their rings on each other then kissed. Everyone clapped and cheered, then the band started to to play AC/DC 's ‘Back in Black’. The new bride and groom got off the stage and were going around to people, thanking theme for attending.

Eventually the bride and groom made their way to your table and everyone got up and greeted them with a ton of congratulations, hugs and handshakes. You hugged Mary and told her that you was so happy for her.

Mary asked you if you were going to be at the bouquet toss, you said you’d think about it. Thor had overheard and walked over to you, asking what a bouquet toss is.

“It’s a tradition where the bride turns her back on her guests—usually only women participate— and tosses a bouquet of flowers over her shoulder, and whoever catches it will get married soon.”

“I see. That sounds wonderful.” Thor beamed. You turned to face Mary again, but she and Shane had moved on to another table. Mostly everyone was up and about talking to each other, now.

You bent down to get your champagne and stood up, taking a sip.

“Seems to me that tradition is just an old fairy tale.” Loki said, casually fixing his scarf then clasping his hands behind his back.

“It seems to me that _some_ Asgardians can’t keep to themselves.” You said,

“Oh, really?”

“Brother,” Thor warned.

“It’s fine, Thor.” You said, then turned to Loki, “You think you know so much about humans and their traditions, huh?”

“I have a pretty good guess.” He smirked. You made a gesture for him to continue.

He turned to Thor, “It’s like when Odin used to tell us make-believe that Huginn and Muninn flew to Migard. Do you really believe they would be able to do that without the Bifrost or Dark Energy?” While Thor contemplated that, Loki turned back to you,

“It’s simple, really. It’s pathetically simple. People who take part in this ‘tradition’ unwittingly show how desperate they are for...” he gestured to the entire ballroom,

“all this. It shows that they really are hopeless in finding it themselves. Love.” He spat. You stared at him for a moment, nodding.

Then you suddenly tossed your drink behind you and slammed Loki onto the table, grabbing a steak knife and held it to his throat. There was a collective gasp.

Thor was immediately behind you, trying to pull you off his his brother. “(Y/n)! Stop!” He ordered. Pepper and rest of the Avengers circled the table.

“(Y/n). Let him go.” Nat said.

“No.” You growled, “I am sick of his crap.” You pressed the knife harder against his throat.

Loki watched you calmly from his position under you. The room had a dramatic drop in temperature as you shook yourself free of Thor’s grip.

He put his hand on your shoulder, “If you do this you will be no better than Loki.” He warned.

You glared at Loki, “Make it known that I could have killed you right here, right now. Don’t you ever forget it.” You said, then stabbed the knife into the spot next to his head and got off of him.

Your teammates rushed to you, asking if you were fine. You gritted your teeth, saying that were were fine. Thor hauled his brother to a stand then summoned Mjölnir, which was in a backpack. He caught it and opened the bag, taking the handcuffs out and put then on Loki. “Oh come now, if anyone needs these it’s—” Thor clamped his hand over his brothers’ mouth.

“If you’re fine, then turn the temperature back up.” Tony said. You sighed heavily and it got warm again.

“I’m just gonna wash up.” You muttered,

   “Tell Mary and Shane I’m sorry for ruining their wedding.” You walked across the ballroom to the bathrooms. You kept your head down as you walked down the dimly lit hall and bumped into someone coming out of the mens bathroom, “Sorry.” You mumbled. He patted you on the forearm then walked into the ballroom. You continued down the hall and pushed open the bathroom door into the clean bathroom.

Your high heels were giving you hell so you took them off and set them next to the door.. You walked in front of the sink and turned on the cold water, then splashed your face with it. Blindly, you turned off the water and snatched some paper towels from the counter and dried your face and hands.

There was rapid gunfire— a Saiga 12k 12 gauge, you guessed— then screams following after. You ran to the door but it slammed open, two men wearing all black and carrying machine guns barged in. “On your knees, now! Put your hands behind your head!” The first man ordered. You cursed then slowly got down on your knees. The second man came behind you and grabbed your wrist.

The instant he did that it was all over for them.

You grabbed his hand and threw him over your shoulder into the first man, but he quickly dodged.

The second man lay crumpled against the door.

You got up and the first man started firing at you, but you waved your hands in front of you and opened a portal with your powers and letting the bullets fly into the Dark Realm, which you have called another dimension from which you get your powers from. The man was making a go for his walkie talkie and you pushed your arms forward, sending the portal flying at him and he disappeared inside. You made a running start at the portal, then jumped in.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since these chapters are gonna written (chapter 1, 2 and 3 were already written) in real time (if that makes sense) it'll be a little time for next chapters to be uploaded. Hopefully the wait isn't too long.
> 
> Love you precious people!! <3  
> ~ClevaChloe


	5. What You See Will Defy Explanation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is just a) mainly a flashback to how you were able to enter the Dark Realm b) how you were recruited to the Avengers, and c) a few secrets no one else except the AllFathers' know about.

 

 

_**(Flashback)** _

 

_Two and a half years ago_

 

_Undisclosed location, Europe_

 

You were lying down in your bed in the large mansion that Tony owned.

   You were all alone; Tony and Pepper were at Monaco for the Grand Prix. You were on your laptop watching one of your favorite shows that had been rebooted to a web series ‘ _Heroes: Dark Matters_ ’.

You were watching part one and took interest in one of the characters, Phoebe Frady, who was being dropped off at college by her brother, Quentin.

Phoebe had similar powers like yours.

But apparently Phoebe couldn’t control hers, and her shadow was acting like a living entity.

When it was over you clicked on the screen to watch part two, munching on (favorite snack). At the end of the webisode Phoebe had created a portal of Darkness.

Then you had an idea.

You put the bowl aside and wiped your hands off on your jeans then went to close the long ceiling-to-floor windows with a long dark curtain, shutting out the view of the city on beach in the distance.

You went back to the bed and pulled out your phone and turned on the recorder, then leaned it against the lamp so the camera would be facing you. You looked at the camera and quoted famous line from the original _Heroes_ show;

“ _I’m_ (y/n) Stark, _and this is attempt number one_.”

You approached the bed and sat cross legged in the normal light. You cupped your hands in the air just like Phoebe did in the show, and pulled Darkness to your open palms.

It was forming a sphere, good, good. But nothing was happening. You honestly didn’t know what you were doing, or what you were supposed to do. But you were still trying.

After a while of nothing happening you rested your hands on your lap and the Darkness dissipated. You chewed on your bottom lip. _A black hole is essentially a portal, a black hole is formed by a collapsing star_ ; you remembered, from the tutor Tony had hired for you, (so you wouldn’t have to be enrolled in any form of school that could have an emergency and he couldn’t get there in time). _A star is formed when light elements are squeezed under a tremendous amount of gravity_.

“So actually, I need light.” You said to yourself, then got up and pulled the curtains back. You ran back and bounced on the bed as you sat on the edge.

You did the same as before, pulling the Darkness into a ring so that there was still light shining through the center. With a mental push, you instantly made the an enclosed sphere, capturing and keeping the light inside.

You moved your hands together at a minuscule pace, mentally putting pressure on the light encased sphere.

   When your hands were nine inches apart you were getting a throbbing headache on the right side of your head and the sphere was a little lager than the size of a tennis ball. You pushed a little bit more then felt blood trickle down your nose. Just as you pulled your hands apart, you were thrown backwards from a burst of power.

You groggily stood up and stared as the large opening in the fabric of space. It was the color of a fresh purple bruise, the edges of the portal were wavering.        

Then you passed out.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

When you woke up you had a migraine. You pulled yourself up from the carpet and saw that the portal was still there.

You took several deep breaths to steady your energy as you put your hand to the right side of your head where the migraine was.

You slowly approached the portal, cautious to anything that might happen. You stood directly in front of it and peered inside.

There was a dark red line for a horizon line, but that was it. You slowly reached your other arm out to the gateway, then it started to become unstable.

You pulled your arm pack and focused harder on keeping the portal open.

Eventually it worked and you barely had to think about keeping it open, but you still had a migraine.

This time, but more hesitantly, you stuck your arm through the portal; it felt airless. You slowly entered and found out you could still breathe.

Everything was the color of sangria— the “ground” and the “sky”. You carefully walked around, not straying too far from the portal.

You turned around and saw something pure white in the distance, maybe thirty yards away, like a bright green sun hanging on the horizon. You made the portal follow you as you moved to the ball of light.

The more you walked, the more drowsy and cold you got.

Once you were five feet away you stopped, it wasn’t pure light like you thought, but energy.

   You sensed it was more than that, though. You felt at peace, you felt like it had a heartbeat. You walked around it, feeling grief for some reason, like a loved one had died.

You were trebling and felt sick. A thought flickered through your head wondering if this is what it feels like dying. But through this emotion you were curious, as usual.

And like the saying goes “ _Curiosity killed the cat_ ”.

You had no idea what the hell that thing was, but you still reached out and touched it.

There was a high pitched shriek and you were blasted backwards, hitting your head hard on the ground.

   You didn’t notice the portal close as you lay on the ground.

Images flashed in your mind, things you didn’t know about, things you couldn’t even dream about filled your mind.

You screamed in pain, curling up as the knowledge of the universe crammed itself into your mortal mind. Your hands went up to your head, trying to pull out your hair out as if that would help ease the pain.

Behind your closed eyes you saw galaxies being born and dying in massive explosions. You saw a large tree spanning the entire universe with galaxies resting in the branches. The largest one sat near the top of the tree and you knew everything about it; Asgard.

The image spiraled into your Minds Eye, a planet made out of diamond and gold. “Gleðja.” You begged, the pain was overwhelming. You heard voices, so many voices.

 _“It has awoken.”_ A man said through all the chatter.

 _“It would be wise if you sent_ him _down.”_ A deeper voice said.

   You knew who they were; the AllFathers, Odin and Zeus.

 _“Of course.”_ Odin said incredulously, _“I wouldn’t send anyone else on such a mission. Besides, after his time with the Other he has some knowledge on the Stones.”_

Your brain felt like it was on fire, you shouldn’t know these things.

Somehow, you suddenly knew what you had touched, an Infinity Stone. The Time Gem.

_“Do not let him escape again, Odin Borson. The demi-gods had a hard time keeping the aliens under control. They didn’t know what they were up against. We lost many lives. Thalia and Percy almost—”_

_“Enough.”_ Odin said,  _“He will be neutralized, then sent down to Midgard.”_

You got vertigo when the image of the Tree of Life zoomed out to show the entire universe.

   The knowledge being drained into you was burning your entire being as it showed you things no one could ever understand; the meaning of life, how the universe began, what came after death.

The image of a golden glove, a golden gauntlet came into your mind. It had concaving holes in each knuckle then on the back of the hand to hold something; the Infinity Stones. The Infinity Gauntlet, you knew.

It was suddenly silent, and you realized it was you screaming.

A deep voice boomed in your head, saying, “ _Fine. I’ll do it myself.”_

Then like someone flicked off a light switch, everything went out.

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________

 

 

Your eyes snapped open and you saw Tony hovering over you, his hands gripping your shoulders.

   When he saw that you were awake he pulled you in a tight embrace.

“Oh thank god. I thought I lost you.” He said into your hair. He let go of you and helped you sit up on the floor. You saw that he had soot on his face and was wearing his Iron Man suit. He got up and helped you to a stand.

He bent back down and put his helmet on, it sealed together with a click and the eyes glowed bright blue.

You staggered then Tony picked you up bridal style. You wrapped your arms around his head.

“We need to leave right now. Pepper’s already in the helicopter heading back home.” He briskly walked to the front of his mansion.

“What happened to you? You’re all vampire looking.” He asked, seeing that your face was so pale.

“I don’t know.” You answered sluggishly, your head rolling onto his shoulder.

“God, we need to get you to a doctor.” He said, pushing the front door open with his back. “Hold on.”

You managed to tighten your grip around Tony’s neck when he activated the rocket boosters, soaring high into the air, flying back to America.

 

When Tony got to his private doctor, the woman had said that you had been near death.

After that you told Tony, Pepper and Jarvis about your powers, explaining that you had been able to open a portal from where you got your powers from.

You told him you didn’t remember anything after a few minutes from being inside the Dark Realm and before when Tony woke you up. From then on you told Tony about any advancements in your powers.

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

 

Almost one year later (just after the events in 'the Avengers') you were sparring with James Rhodes in Tony’s boxing room, as you always did every morning.

  Rhodey hooked his foot around yours and easily pinned you to the floor, holding your arms above you with one hand and pressing his other forearm to your throat. He tightened his legs around your waist and said, “Whenever you want me to sto—” you flipped your legs, quickly turning him over so that you were on top, putting him in the same position as before.

“Very good.” A man said. You and Rhodey turned to see who it was. He came out from the hallway and looked at the two of you.

   He had an eyepatch on his left eye and was wearing a black turtleneck with matching pants under a black leather trenchcoat. “Very impressive for someone your age.” He said, clasping his hands behind his back.

“Does Tony know you’re here?” You asked, sitting up straight and letting go of Rhodey, you put your guard up.

“Yes. I’m actually here to talk to you, (y/n).” You were considering turning him down, because you still had two more hours to spar with Rhodey.

“It might be important.” Rhodey told you. You got off of him and stood, pulling him up you did so.

You went under the rubber bars in the boxing ring and put a towel around your neck, Rhodey followed. “So, you wanted to speak with me?” You asked. He nodded,

 

“(Y/n), I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.” You stared at him in disbelief and confusion. Rhodey swallowed,

“Yeah, this could be important.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying this fic so far. I can't believe I'm already on chapter five.
> 
> Regardless if you don't like it, I'll be posting more chapters :)
> 
> Stay too good and too precious for this world <3
> 
> ~ClevaChloe


	6. I Write Sins, Not Tragidies pt 2

 

Now...

 

You lunged at him, deflecting the gun when he aimed it at you. You punched him in the face and kicked the machine gun out of his grasp.

He punched you in the stomach and got his handgun that was strapped on his side.

You had a percent higher chance of surviving this fight.

You knew he disoriented by not knowing where he was. You opened another portal under him and he fell. You quickly closed it then opened another one in the air and he was thrown across the ground.

You ran at the masked man and grabbed the hand he was holding his gun and punched him in the face once, then let him fall to the ground limp.

You dusted off your hands then looked around yourself. You were able to strengthen your stamina to stay in the Dark Realm for longer amounts of time— up to three hours now— without passing out.

You looked at the large orange orb in the distance, you didn’t have a good feeling about it.

You flicked your wrist and opened a portal back to the world and passed through it.

You closed it behind yourself and decided to deal with the other man who lay unconscious by the door. You carefully took his gun away from him and expertly tossed the unused magazine into one of the toilets and put the gun on the ground.

You proceeded to grab his ankles and drag him into one of the other stalls. You dumped him there then shut the door.

You went back to the bathroom door and opened it slightly to see what was happening, but quickly closed it when you saw two men guarding the end of the hall where the ballroom was. You gritted your teeth.

You had already taken down two by yourself, but there was bound to be more out there, but you couldn’t tell how many more. But you knew where you would be able to see better from: the mens’ bathroom.

You looked at the walls and found a vent that should be going in the same direction.

   You grabbed your high heels and attempted to climb onto the sink, but your dress kept getting caught. You opened a small portal and reached inside and pulled out a dagger and started to cut it off at your knees. You discarded the unneeded fabric and climbed on top of the sinks then made a screwdriver out of Darkness and started to take the screws out.

Once all four metal bits were off, you popped off the gate and started to pull yourself into the vent. You army crawled the the tight space, trying not to make the thudding so loud, and trying not think about the fact that you have claustrophobia.

“I know what you’re probably thinking,” you said to no one particular. “ ‘ _Why don’t you just make a portal in the mens’ bathroom then go through there?_ ’ Well, there could be those bad guys in there too. If I open a portal, they’ll see and point their guns to it as I exit. I’m just glad only two came in after me.” You explained, breaking the fourth wall.

You came to the end of the vent and silently looked through the small openings. You saw two men lying on the ground, unmoving. You saw a man standing in front of the sink, looking at his reflection in the mirror, his back was turned to you.

Loki.

You sighed and lowered your head. “You seem to be enjoying yourself in there.” He said. You looked up and he caught your eye in the mirror. You made another screwdriver on the outside and started to undo the vent.

When the screws were all out, the metal gating fell with a clatter onto the ground. The screwdriver disappeared when you pulled yourself out of the vent.

Your hand slipped and you fell hard onto the tile floor.

“Could you be more louder? I don’t think the guards in the ballroom heard you.” Loki said sarcastically.

“I wouldn’t have fallen if you would have been a gentleman and caught me.” You snapped, holding your right knee as you stood.

Loki turned to face you and raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I guess I deserved that.” You muttered. “So, what are we going to do about those low lives out there?” You asked, walking up next to Loki.

He continued to inspect a bruise on his jaw in the mirror, “I thought you wouldn’t want to work with a ‘villain’. A monster.” He said, using the same words you had called him all those months ago when you saw Crimson Peak.

All at once your consciousness caught up with you.

Why?

Why had you been so mean to him?

Yeah, he had pulled some pranks on you, but nothing for you treat him the way you had been.

You looked at him, “Loki, I-I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I was acting that way. I know there’s no way for you to forgive me, there’s no way I could ever apologize for what I said to you. I’m so, so sorry. I...” You didn’t know what to say next. There was no excuse for calling someone a monster unless they rightfully deserved it.

And Loki didn’t deserve it.

You felt sick to your stomach.

“It’s no matter now, darling. We need to stop them. And you need to get these cuffs off of me. Thor has the key.” He said.

You gently opened the door and peered outside to see everyone in the ballroom, sitting in their chairs.

“Ok. I’ll do it. When I come back, you should have a plan.” You compromised.

Loki nodded.

You turned yourself invisible then slipped through the door and into the hallway, slowly and quietly shutting it.

You carefully tread down the hall, passing the guards that were standing at the end, and into the ballroom. You stayed low to the ground, you did so even though you were invisible, as you walked by people.

There was a man at the center of the ballroom, leisurely pacing back and forth in front of the five-tiered cake, his voice carried over the entire ballroom, “Rumor has it that the Avengers have attended a wedding.” He said, looking over at the table you were just reaching, four guards were standing around the table.

You could see that the Avengers’ hands were tied behind their chairs.

“One rumor right. There was also a rumor that Loki had joined the Avengers and there so happens,” he walked over to the table, his black dress shoes clicking against the wooden floor. “to be an extra seat at the table. The one and Loki from Asgard has joined. Is that right, Thor?” He asked, stroking some hair out of Thor’s face with his hand gun. He had a hint of a German accent.

His accent reminded you of Moriarty’s, a character from a tv show called ‘Sherlock’.

Thor didn’t answer.

You ducked under the table and crawled around Tony. You must’ve touched him because he made a little sequel and his foot went to Pepper’s leg, rubbing it seductively.

You watched out when she kicked him.

“We have all the Avengers here, plus Tony’s niece. Where is she right now?” He asked.

Tony shifted in his chair, “She had to run out. Woman-y issues.” He said sarcastically.

You moved under the table next to Thor. “I have a question.” Clint spoke up. “Why are you all doing this?” He asked like a child asking a teacher a question.

“To get Loki’s attention. I think we could be good allies.” He went back to the center of the room, laying out his plans.

You came out from under the table and crouched in front of Thor.

“... for global domination.” You rolled your eyes; _global domination was so 2012_ , you thought.

Slowly you stood. Keeping yourself invisible, placed a hand over Thor’s mouth and whispered, “Thor, it’s me. (Y/n). I need the keys to Loki’s handcuffs, where are they?”

You slowly removed your hand and he muttered, “My bag, front zipper.”

You knelt down again, finding his back back almost underneath his chair.

You weren’t paying any mind to what the man was saying now, all your attention was on making the zipper not make a sound. You slowly pulled it open halfway, then squeezed your eyes shut as you quickly pulled it the rest of the way. You opened your eyes and looked up back at the guards, they didn’t suspect anything.

You reached inside the front pocket and closed your hand around the key. You whispered a thank you to Thor and quickly went back to the bathroom.

“... and if he doesn’t accept us, either way we have a full ride from Hydra.”

You stopped dead in your tracks. _What did he say? They were from Hydra?_ You muttered a curse as you swiftly went by the guards in the hallway and entered the mens’ bathroom again. Loki was standing there, awaiting your return.

You approached him and he held out his hands.

“Great work, tigress.” He said.

You raised an eyebrow at the nickname but continued to push the odd shaped key into the slot and turned it to the right. With a series of clicks and whirs the handcuffs came off.

You placed them inside the sink and said, ”I think those people are with Hydra. The one in charge says that he could work for you.” Loki only nodded and hummed, staring at the handcuffs as he rubbed his wrists.

“I’m going to need weapon.” He said. You reached into the Dark realm and pulled out several daggers then handed them to him.

“You have a plan?” You asked,

“Of course.” He said, feeling a little insulted.

“Is it a good one?”

He paused, “... I have a plan.” He explained it to you, then you found out the plan wasn’t very detailed.

He even taught you something.

Once you were mediocre at the trick he decided to start his plan.

You turned the two of you invisible and exited the bathroom.

   Loki pulled out two daggers and held them in between his middle fingers and ring fingers. He swiftly approached the guards at the end of the hallway and stabbed them through the neck and twisted his wrists, severing their spinal cords.

You suddenly had déjà vu when you saw his expression of slight pleasure flash through his face.

You were getting Struttgard vibes.

He pulled the daggers out and the two of you caught the falling bodies and dragged them a little ways before standing back where the two men were.

“Follow me.” He said, “Stay low go fast.” You nodded and turned him visible again.

You kept yourself hidden.

“My my, this does seem like a celebration now.” He said loud enough to grab everyone’s attention. He smirked.

Several people gasped, the guards became more aware and defensive.

“It has come to my attention that a very dashing man has wished to speak with the prince of Asgard.” He said smoothly, walking up to the man.

You stayed close behind.

“I come in peace. Who do I have the pleasure to meet?” He asked, lifting his hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

“Robin. Robin Heisenburg.” He said seductively.

“The pleasure’s all mine, Robin.” Loki said, staring back at Robin as he lowered the man’s hand.

“I witnessed your little endeavor in Germany two years ago. It didn’t turn out to plan, did it?”

“Quite not. I heard that you have a proposition for me?”

You twisted your wrist, making three clones of yourself at every table. The guards there raised their guns at the clones.

Tony tried to get free of the rope.

   “Hold your fire!” Robin said. He was on his knees now in front of Loki. He faced the Asgardian prince and said, “My soldiers and I would be loyal to you. With our help along with Hydra’s, we’ll be able to conquer the world.”

You watched Loki contemplate that. Of course you knew he was only pretending.

Or was he?

Right now would be the opportune moment for him going bad again.

 

“I work alone.” That was your cue.

You stood up and revealed yourself, with your eyes closed you focused hard then made a swirling motion with your hands and your clones started to attack Robin’s men.

“You liar!” Robin shouted, getting to a stand.

Loki only grinned evilly then stabbed him in the side of the neck with a dagger, and bullets started flying.

People were screaming and running around.

Loki expertly threw more daggers at some more guards. You flicked your wrist and one of your clones tackled a guard to the ground, knocking him unconscious. You sent two of them to help untie the Avengers.

You made a knife out of Darkness and lunged at the man who was going to point his gun out at Loki, you wrapped your legs around his chest and stabbed him deep in his back then dropped, tripping him onto the ground.

Doing so much made the room seem like it was spinning.

Loki whipped around and threw a dagger at a man’s throat who had a machine gun aimed at you. He ducked under someone’s fist and sent his to the assailant’s face— only ten times harder, kneed him in the stomach then shoved him into another assailant.

He quickly looked around then saw a clothed figure with a rocket missile on their shoulder pointed right at you.

   “No,” he mouthed, then made a run at you. He shoved people out of his way and and tackled you to the ground, sliding across the floor as the missile flew across the room and hit the wall and exploded, he shielded you from the shrapnel.

You opened your eyes and saw a panting Loki on top of you, your illusions wavered.

“Keep going, you’re doing great, tigress.” He said in a rushed voice, scrambling off of you and fighting.

You stayed on the ground, flicking and waving your hands in the air, controlling the multiple clones. You got a throbbing headache and you felt someone grab your throat and lifted you into the air. Then there was a loud pop then sharp burning pain in your stomach. The guard let go of you and you fell, landing hard on your side and you felt another wave of pain go through your stomach. You heard other people screaming then you saw Tony’s face.

Your assailant was lying on the ground as well, being viciously stabbed over and over again by Loki. Your uncle knelt next to you and carefully laid you on your back, trying to get a hold of your hands, but you kept moving them.

“It’s over sweetheart. Try to be calm, shh, shh, shh...” He got a hold of your hands and tried to ignore the blood pooling around you. He slowly released your hands, and once he saw that they didn’t move again, he pressed his hands firmly against your open stomach.

“Shh, shh, shh, shh.” He said, mostly to himself. You looked around with your eyes; you could see your teammates ushering the rest of the guests out.

“Any fatalities?” You panted,

“Four guests, all twenty of Robin’s guys.” He said. Out of the corner of your eye Loki had stopped stabbing the dead guard, he had blood sprayed all over his face, arms and chest.

You groaned in pain, blood seeped through Tony’s fingers. There was the distant cry of police sirens,

“Oh thank god.” He sighed, “They’re almost here, hold on.” Tony said, then began to test you on how to reprogram Jarvis if you wanted it to have a woman’s voice.

You passed out just as the medics reached you.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

You woke up to the sound of voices,

“... earned my trust. Don’t lose it, alright?”

You opened your eyes and saw it was Tony and Loki. The three of you were inside a hospital room.

“I promise.” Loki said.

You coughed and tried to sit up.

Tony rushed to your side and helped you accomplish that, propping a large pillow behind you. You muttered a thanks and pulled the blanket up to your lap, then winced and gripped the blanket.

“Careful. Try not to move too much, the stitches might come out.” Tony said, pushing back some of your hair back. He took your hand and stroked the back of it with him thumb. You thought of the stitches and cringed, “Right. The wedding. How’s Mary and Shane and the guests?”

“Pretty shaken up.” You nodded.

“Can– can I get some water?” You asked. Loki nodded and got a cup of water from a water cooler then handed it to you. You gratefully took it from him and slowly drank it. Once it was finished you asked, “How long—”

“Only a couple hours.” You nodded again.

“Where’s the rest of the Avengers and Pepper?”

“Out in the hall. Do you want me to get them?”

“Sure.”

He kissed you on the forehead. When he pulled away you said, “C-Can I have a minute or two alone with Loki?”

“Ok. But when I come back we’re gonna play a round of Uno.” Tony said sternly, but there was a hint of playfulness in his eyes. He gave you another kiss, this time on the cheek, then walked around the bed and opened the door and exited, gently closing it behind him.

You looked at Loki. He gave you a small smile as he clasped his hands behind his back. You noticed he was back in his normal green and black armor.

The two of you stared at each other for a few seconds before Loki disrupted the silence. “You were fantastic out there, tigress.”

You shrugged, “I should have been able do more.”

“You did as much as you could at the time. There’s no point in regretting in what you could have done.” He said, pulling a chair next to the bed.

“You were great out there, too. With all your dagger throwing.” You smiled. Loki chuckled.

“Thank you, Loki. You saved my life.”

“I know. And you saved mine.”

You were about to ask what he meant but Thor entered, Pepper and the rest of the Avengers.

Bruce was there, too.

Pepper quickly went to your other side and cupped your face, dropping kisses all over your face. You told her that you were feeling fine and she let go of you then stepped back.

“Y’know, to be honest (y/n), you and Loki looked like a pretty awesome power couple.” Clint said, scratching absentmindedly at a bandaid on the bridge of his nose.

You grinned, “Yeah, we were pretty rockin’.” You smiled at the raven haired prince.

“You were very brave, Lady (y/n).” Thor said.

Loki got up and slowly moved to the back of the room to make way for Thor.

Everyone began talking to each other.

“...And then what?”

“Then I threw the one guy into the other guy who just started shooting... you would’ve been really good in that situation. At that moment we kinda needed the Other Guy.”

“No. From what the others tell me, you and Loki pretty much took down Robin all by yourselves.”

“No, it was really Loki. He taught me how to make clones and...”

“This is probably the last time I’ll be invited to a wedding.”

“Do not be so troubled, Lady Pepper. The next wedding we’ll attend will be between you and Tony.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

“... should make a suit for her.”

“I agree with Nat. If you’re the overprotective uncle you should make a suit for her. Alfred made a Bat-Girl suit for _his_  niece. It’d be more practical.”

“No, no, no. What’d they call her? ‘Iron Girl’? ‘Iron Woman’? No. The whole ‘Iron’ thing is my trademark.”

You looked around the room of your friends. You saw Loki sitting in the chair by the corner, watching everyone else talk.

His eyes met yours and you offered him a smile. He returned it.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

You put down a ‘7’ on top of Tony’s ‘7’. The Avengers and Pepper stood close around the bed.

“So, the wedding’s over,” Tony said, rearranging the cards in his hands, “does anyone want to tell me what happened in Austria?”

Your eyes were wide when you glanced at Steve and Thor, they were equally nervous. Loki was intrigued and moved closer to the bed, crossing his arms over his chest. There was so much tension in the room you could cut it with a knife.

“Alright!” You said, breaking from the pressure, “But Tony, please, _please,_ don’t get mad at any of us.”

You took a deep breath then said quickly, “Steve, Thor and I got married.”

Tony, Loki, Pepper and Bruce’s jaws dropped.

Your uncle quickly got off the bed and looked at the three of you.

“It was a little while after Loki had destroyed New York. You had sent me to Austria while you were away doing a business deal, or whatever. You told me that I had to stay there a week longer because something had went wrong with the transition. I just sent out a text to Steve, Nat, Clint, Bruce and Thor, asking if any of them were free. Everyone except Bruce was and they all came to Austria, we got pretty drunk, and I ended up marrying Steve and Thor.”

Tony nodded, letting this all sink in.

“But then two days later we all got divorced, so e-everything’s fine.” Steve piped in.

“Yes. But it was a joyous time, if I remember correctly. Clint and Lady Natasha were the best witnesses.” Thor said.

“May—may I remind you we were all drunk.” Clint said.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed, “Just tell me one thing; tell me you, Steve and Thor didn’t make it _official_. Tell me the three of you didn’t _do_ anything.”

“No! No, no, no, no, no. Steve made sure of that.” You said.

 

Tony let out a sigh of relief, “Thank god for senior citizens.”

 

 

 


	7. Sand And Space

 

 

“Come on, Nightlight! Hustle!” Tony said, a few feet in front of you.

“This would go a lot faster if you helped.” You grumbled, pulling a white and blue cooler through the sand. It weighed over fifteen pounds with drinks and food and dragging it through sand was not making it any easier, especially when it was almost a hundred degrees out.

“Let me make myself useful, Lady (Y/n).” Thor said, gently removing your hand from the handle and picking up the entire plastic container.

“Thank you, Thor.” You said gratefully as the two of you walked down the private beach Tony owned.

   Thor ducked under the curtain that was attached to the giant portable gazebo Clint had brought down and put together. Thor put down the cooler next to the table where Steve, Bruce, Loki, Nat, Clint, and now Tony and Thor were sitting at.

Tony instantly bent down and opened the cooler, pulled out a beer for himself and shut it again. He plopped down in an empty chair and kicked his sandaled feet up on the table and said, “Whoo! All that hard work does make a man thirsty.” Then twisted the cap off and tossed it on the glass table and took a gulp.

Thor chuckled and sat down across from his adoptive brother and took a sip of his cold drink.

“Yeah, Tony, especially when you’re telling people what to do.” You said, pulling out a soda from the cooler as well and popping it open.

“(Y/n), you should be sweltering in that thing,” Steve said, gesturing to your long, thick coverup.

“You should take it off.”

His face suddenly got nervous, he sat up and waved his hands defensively,

“Not— not that I want to see what you’re wearing under that, I—I do! But–but not in that way. I’m just concerned for your health. You could get heatstroke.” He stammered.

Natasha sighed and got up, grabbing her surfboard,

“Hey, hey, I didn’t know you surf. Can you teach me?” Clint quietly asked, looking up from his seat.

“(Y/n). I spent a whole day with you helping you to find something to wear,” Nat began.

“Fine.” You grumbled, “Just— all of you close your eyes.”

Everyone obliged.

You quickly took off your coverup and dumped it next to the pile of clothes everyone else had worn above their swimsuits.

“You can open your eyes. Just... Don’t make fun of me. _Clint_.” You crossed your arms over your chest.

Everyone looked back at you, standing there flustered in a black bikini with white polka dots. They all made sure to tell you that you looked amazing and beautiful and stunning. You blushed and nodded, muttering a thanks.

“See. You look fantastic.” Natasha said with a gentle smile, then patted you on the shoulder then walked down to the edge of the beach.

Nat, in a black bikini with a red hourglass in the center of her top and her dark red surfboard under her right arm, and Clint in purple swim trucks.

Loki set down his drink saying, “You look absolutely stunning, (Y/n).” You blushed.

His left hand gently rested on your hip and stroked the small bullet scar on the side of your stomach with his thumb.

That action only lasted two seconds before he removed his hand.

And Thor, without meaning to, topped his compliment by taking your hand and saying, “Any of the finest men in Asgard would dream of a chance to court you.”

Loki frowned and gritted his teeth.

“Hey, hey, no touching her while she’s in that.” Tony said, nudging Thor’s bicep with his foot.

“But you and Loki are the only men from Asgard that I know.” You said with a smirk.

“Ah, you caught on.” Thor chuckled, and you let go of his hand.

“Thank you, guys.” You said, “Now are we gonna head into the water or not?”

“Yeah. Hey!” Tony began, “Who wants to play Chicken Fight?”

“Why would we want to battle chickens? It seems very unfair since practically anything is stronger than a chicken.” Thor said, tilting his head to the side with a confused look on his face.

You sensed Loki’s irritation and gently moved your hand to his head, carding your fingers slowly through his black hair as Tony removed his feet from the table and explained the game to the Asgardians.

During these months Loki had grown slightly fond of you, and slowly had become a close friend.

You two were best friends.

Well, you thought so. But it was Thor who told you about Loki’s true feelings about you.

He closed his eyes, gently leaning into your touch.

“Ok, so who’s in?” Tony’s eyes swept over everyone, then stopped over you and Loki.

“Um, Nightlight, what are you doing?” Tony asked.

You choked on air then said, “Just, uh, I—I thought I saw a bee in Loki’s hair,” you quickly looked at him, “no, no bee. All fine.”

You gave a fake grin as you lightly ran your hand down the back of his neck before removing it. “Um. I—I’ll play.” You said, trying to change the subject, “Uh, Steve! Wanna be on my team?”

“Uh, sure.” He said, getting up and pulling off his skintight shirt, folding it then placing it on his chair. He went around the table and stood next to you.

“Ok. Then me and...” Tony turned to Bruce.

“Nu- uh. Count me out.”

“Fine.” Tony grumbled, “Then, me aaand... Thor. You guys get ready to have your asses handed to you.”

“You should look into a mirror when you say that.” You smirked smirked as Thor stood up and unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it onto the chair he was previously sitting in.

Tony kept his black tank top on.

The four of you walked down to the beach and into the surf, the water was clear blue and warm.

You waded in to your chest and looked to your left to watch Clint hopelessly try to get on the surfboard. You laughed then turned your attention back to the game you were about to play.

“Ready?” Steve asked.

You nodded then he ducked under the water. He came back up and you were sitting on his shoulders. You pushed his hair out of his eyes and he held onto your legs.

Next thing you knew, Tony was sitting on Thor’s shoulders.

About ten minutes later Tony and Thor fell backwards into the water.

You cheered and gave Steve a high five as the two men stood back up in the water.

“Seriously?” Tony asked his teammate, “You’re a god. How could you have fallen over?” Thor simply just shrugged, “Well done, (Y/n).” He said.

You thanked him then slid off of Steve’s back, splashing into the water behind him.

“Hey, how about we play water volleyball?” You suggested.

“Sure, yeah. I’m in.” Steve said.

“Ok. I’m just gonna grab a sandwich and the volleyball.”

“Alright. See you in a few.” He walked over to see what Thor and Tony were talking about.

You departed from the water and headed back up the beach to the gazebo.

“How was the game?” Bruce asked, crossing his arms.

“Tiring. But last I heard Tony was whining like a little girl.” You said, crouching down and pulling an aluminum foil covered sandwich from the cooler. You sat down in a chair and unwrapped the sandwich.

Bruce opened a newspaper and started reading it.

You noticed Loki watching you. You swallowed the bite of sandwich and pointed at the cooler, “Want something to eat?”

He shook his head and sat back in his chair. “Are you gonna play water volleyball with us?” You asked Bruce and Loki.

Bruce lowered his newspaper, “Who, me?”

You nodded.

“Uh, sure. Once I finish this article.” He raised the newspaper again.

You looked at Loki, “I don’t know...” He began.

“Oh _please_ , Loki.” You said. You set down your sandwich on the table and went around the table and sat on his lap. You wrapped your arms around his neck,

“Play with us. Enjoy yourself. You been so,” you growled, “lately. Please?” You usually were able to get Loki to do things he didn’t want to, but you didn’t abuse your “power”.

While he contemplated it he gently placed his hand on the small of your back.

You stared at him with a small smile on your face, gently tugging on his black hair.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” He said. A grin spread over his face when he saw how happy you were.

You got off of him and pulled him up to a stand. You looked over his shoulder and your face fell. Loki noticed and turned around, his face fell too.

The two of you watched Tony, Clint, Steve and Thor have a splash off. Nat sat on her surfboard watching them a few feet away, no doubtingly rolling her eyes.

“They are giant five year olds.” You said. Loki rolled his eyes at his brother, who was making the largest waves, and poor Clint was making the smallest.

You sighed. “Bruce, you ready?” You asked, wrapping your sandwich back up and tossing it back into the cooler.

You turned to the scientist. He put down the newspaper and glasses, “I suppose I am.” He stood up and stretched. When you turned back around you saw Loki unbuttoning his shirt.

You quickly averted your eyes.

Lately you had noticed a change in yourself; you had fallen for the God of Mischief. And, thanks to Thor, you knew he had fallen for you, too.

You crouched down to get the volleyball out from under the table then stood.

“How do we play this, ‘volleyball’?” Loki asked, looking from the water to you.

You explained the game to him. When you were finished the three of you walked down the beach.

You couldn’t help but stare at Loki. He wasn’t as brawny as Steve or Thor, but he still had muscle. He had a nice chest and abs. “See something you like?” Bruce asked in a hushed tone, there was a mischievous smile on his face. Your face turned red with embarrassment but you couldn’t help but smile.

“Clint! Heads up!” You shouted, then tossed the ball high into the air then spiked it to him. Clint jumped up into the air and caught it before splashing down into the water.

“Nat, you wanna play?”

“No thanks.” She said, she was sunbathing on her surfboard.

“C’mon, Nat, we need an even amount of players.” Clint said.

She sighed, “Fine.” She gracefully turned over to straddle the surfboard and rode it to shore. She got off of it and picked it up then stabbed it into the sand.

“Ok, then. Teams; Thor, you’re on one side aaand... Clint, you’re on the other side. Then pick who you want on your teams. Clint, you have the ball, you pick first.”

He immediately picked Natasha, of course. Then Thor picked his brother. You were on Clint’s team, Bruce on Thor’s, Steve on Clint’s, then Tony on Thor’s team.

You waved your hand in the air and made a volleyball net out of Darkness.

“Hold on— are we gonna play for points?” Tony asked.

“Uh, sure.” Clint said.

Tony smirked then tapped a few buttons on his waterproof watch then flicked his hand into the air; two blue holograms with score points put at “0” appeared in the air.

A couple seconds later Clint hit the ball over the net. It went back and forth several times. Every few hits the ball would fall into the water and a team would cheer. An hour later Thor’s team cheered and high fives. They had won 20 to 18.

Tony stuck his tongue out at you immaturely and you rolled your eyes again.

Your eyes landed on the brothers; Thor had his arm wrapped firmly around Loki’s shoulders, and they were laughing together.

You wished you had a camera to record this— this was probably a once in a lifetime moment; Loki and Thor happy together.

Clint was talking to someone behind you about how they’ll get them next time, but all your attention was on the brothers’.

A smile spread over your face when Loki slung his arm over Thor as well.

Everyone walked out of the water, exhausted and in search of food. You stayed back to hear what Thor and Loki were reminiscing about: how they had fought some large sea creature in Vanaheim. They both interrupted each other, getting hyped up from the memories.

Once everyone was at the table Thor and Loki turned and told the story to everyone. You all listened intently, sometimes even laughing when Thor made imitations of the creature and it’s warriors.

Once the story was over Thor held his brothers’ shoulder and explained to them that Loki was a huge factor on how they escaped and went back home. Then it slowly turned into them describing what Asgard looked like. Thor gave a loving brotherly smile to Loki, in which Loki did the same.

Tony coughed into his hand, “Brothers in sick love.” Then proceeded to eat his sandwich.

You let out a whimper, “I wish I could visit Asgard.”

“Don’t fret, tigress, I’ll show you Asgard– and even the universe someday. That’s a promise.” Loki said, his eyes burning into yours. You could tell he wasn’t lying.

You got a tingling feeling in your stomach when he put his hand on your knee underneath the table. If your uncle had seen that, he would’ve throttled the God.

You nodded and swallowed, looking away as a hard blush became visible on your face.

“(Y/n), I think you got sunburn on your cheeks.” Clint teased, brushing his index finger on your cheek. You swatted his hand with yours and he chuckled, then resumed eating his sandwich.

“How about we go right now? You think?” Steve asked the Asgardians.

 “I do not see why not.” Thor said. You all got up and put your shirts and cover ups back on.

You were probably the most excited; you were a big fan of sci-fi and anything to do with space. You could barely keep yourself from jumping up and down as everyone stood in a small circle out in the sand.

Thor held Mjölnir in his right hand as Loki strode to your side and wrapped an arm around your waist,

“You might want to hold onto something.” He whispered in your ear.

Tony noticed this and narrowed his eyes as you wrapped your arms around Loki’s neck.

Just as Thor was about to call for Heimdall, there was an explosion at Tony’s house.

“Sorry, tigress. We’ll have to do this afterwards.” He said.

The two of you detached from each other as a small fleet of spaceships flew over your group.

“Ready (Y/n)?” Clint said.

“Always am.” You said with a smirk as two ships landed on the beach.

All of you lined up next to each other as the creatures— Chitauri— disembarked the ship.

“Not again with these guys.” Clint groaned as the eight of you broke out in full speed, running straight at them.

They shrieked a battle cry and raised their weapons, running at you as well.

“Any second now, (Y/n)!” Natasha shouted. You threw your arms in front of you and flicked your wrists, making a portal appear in front of each of your teammates; then jumped through.

Seemingly seconds later (time runs slower in the Dark Realm), all together you jumped out of your portals; wearing your uniforms and weapons in hand.

Instead of Bruce exiting, he had turned into the Hulk and started ripping the aliens apart.

You wielded a sword made out Darkness and slid it through one of the aliens’ chest then yanked it out and it fell with a screech. You ducked under a blue laser beam that came out of a strange staff then threw Dark daggers to it’s head.

“If Loki caused this...” You heard Clint grumble behind you.

“I highly doubt it.” You said, creating a shield to block a blast headed to Nat.

You removed it and sliced through more and more aliens and you started to notice that they were communicating with each other, and quickly you were surrounded.

“Lady (Y/n)!” Thor bellowed. You ducked as he raised Mjölnir to the sky and brought it back down with a bolt of lightning flying past you and cooking the Chituari group.

Tony flew above you and shot blasts of energy out of his armored palms, covering Loki from behind.

The Hulk roared loudly to your left and you quickly whipped around; he had several Chitauri in his back, one injected him with a serum then was ripped off of him by Steve and bashed it’s head in with his shield.

The Hulk staggered then fell, unconscious.

You stabbed an alien that came up behind you, but another landed a hard punch to your stomach and slammed its staff to the back of your neck. You fell to your knees then felt a rough hand on your shoulder and you brought your fist down onto the crook of its elbow then dragged it to the ground before stabbing it through the head with a Dark dagger.

You got to a stand then immediately fell back down hard on your chest when a heavy weight was thrown on top of you. You felt a prick on the back of your neck and everything started spinning.

The alien got off of you and you rolled over onto your back, flailing your arms in defense.

“Tony...” You slurred, then felt yourself be picked up. The last thing you heard was the battle cry of the Chitauri.

 

 


	8. His Past, Your Future

 

 

You slowly came to, finding that you were tied to a chair. You lifted your head and slowly opened your eyes, then winced at the bright light. Your first thought was, _man, I gotta stop getting knocked out_.

You winced as you sat up and took a breath, broken rib, you assumed. You looked around yourself and assessed your situation; you were in a small, cold room with your arms tied behind the chair you were sitting in. There was a shiny metal table that stood in front of you with a camera on one side pointed at you.

You were in a interrogation room.

You realized that the top part of your uniform had been cut off from your stomach, revealing your chest and black bra. “Typical.” You muttered.

You let out a sigh, you weren’t particularly worried; you had been through rough interrogation as training when you had joined the Avengers. You looked at your reflection in the no doubtingly one-way mirror. You turned your attention to the door that slid open.

A creature stepped in was a shorter version of a Chitauri and had an intricate gold design on it’s pale blue chest, it’s black cape swishing behind it as it approached the table.

“We have a lot to talk about.”

 

Loki’s p.o.v

 

He gasped and his green eyes snapped open and he scrambled to stand up. He was shackled to the floor and could only get to an awkward crouching-stand. He snarled and pulled against the thick manacles that were wrapped around his wrists.

Big mistake.

He hissed in pain as it burned into his skin, then was horrified when– subconsciously– his blue Jotun skin emerged to fend off the blistering heat. He fell backwards and stopped fighting against the chains; his skin returned back to it’s usual state. He took a shuddering breath and leaned against the cold wall. It would have been warmer if he had his armor on, but all he had was his green undershirt— now sleeveless, thanks to the Chitauri— and leather pants.

The last thing he remembered was doctor Banner being overtaken by several Chitauri, as well as himself. He raised his hand to his forehead as he started getting a migraine. Motion on the side of the room made his look up to his right, and his eyes widened.

It was a hologram of (Y/n) with the top portion of her uniform missing. A figure cut out the side of the camera and stood there for a moment.

Loki assumed they were talking, luckily for him he could read lips. But he could only read (Y/n)’s. She had a sarcastic smile on her face, “That’s my tigress.” Loki muttered, getting to his knees and trying to get as close as possible to the hologram without the cuffs burning into him too harshly.

 _“You don’t know who I am, do you?”_ (Y/n) said, then she chuckled,

_“I’m (Y/n) Stark. Tony Stark’s niece. You may remember him, he was the one who solely got rid of your pathetic ‘army’—”_

it’s hand shot out and grabbed her jaw.

Loki growled, balling his hands into fists. The hand on her jaw tightened. Then Loki realized that the hand had two thumbs.

The Other.

“Don’t do anything rash, tigress.” He muttered.

The Other roughly let go of (Y/n) and she began to speak again, but this time more hesitantly.

 _“So when my uncle finds you—”_ she suddenly shut her mouth then glared at the creature.

 _“Doesn’t matter.”_ She said quickly.

 _“So, did you capture doctor Banner as well?”_ She stared up at it.

Loki eagerly wished that he could see the Other’s part of the conversation.

_“Then why would you take me? Doctor Banner is much more powerful than I am.”_

There was another pause then (Y/n) nodded.

The Other dropped a file on the table and opened it, then slid a few pictures to (Y/n). Loki tried to stand, trying in vain to see what was on the pictures. He gritted his teeth then went back to kneeling as she looked back up to the Other and said,

_“You’ve been following us.”_

Loki’s breath hitched. How long? Did the Other know about (Y—

_“An Infinity Stone?”_

“No.” Loki said, yanking against the chains. He ignored the pain; he couldn’t let (Y/n) get mixed up in the whole Thanos-Infinity Stone mess. He started to feel the spell on the chains burning into his skin and he sat back down, once again.

   He needed to reign in his emotions for (Y/n).

Stupid Migardian for stealing his frozen heart.

 _“It’s not there.”_ She said, then jolted back when the Other suddenly slammed it’s hand onto the table.

Loki watched as (Y/n)’s breathing went quicker.

_“I don’t know anything.”_

There was a moment where nothing happened, then the Other’s had shot out and slapped her so hard the chair teetered back and forth.

Loki balled his hands into fists and bit the inside of his cheek and it started to bleed.

(Y/n) flicked her hair out of her face as she looked back up at the Other and said through gritted teeth, _“I’m telling you: I don’t know ANYTHING.”_

There was another long moment of silence.

_“Ok. Thanks.”_

Another long moment of nothing happening. Then (Y/n) burst out laughing.

She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down, but still had a huge grin on her face, _“You’re joking. You honestly think you’ll get a good guy to go bad?”_

Her smile faded as the Other, presumably, spoke.

_“Protect me? The leader of the Chitauri— who’s army tried to take over the world— wants to protect me? I can protect myself. And if the job is too big, I have my teammates, so, no thanks.”_

Loki narrowed his eyes.

_“But who would you want to protect me from?”_

A shorter pause.

_“Loki? He would never hurt me. Why wou—”_

Loki noticed her cheek twitch, and knew she was blushing.

_“Yeah. We’ve talked.”_

A short pause.

_“I— I don’t understand.”_

The Other reached into it’s cloak and pulled out several pieces of paper that were tied together, then snapped his fingers and two Chitauri came an unified her cuffs, then redid them so she could move her arms.

Loki frowned as (Y/n) rifled through the papers then said, _“There’s at least fifty names on here.”_ She shifted in her seat then pointed at the first name on the top paper, “ _Sigyn_.”

Loki kept his anger hidden as (Y/n) tapped the paper,

_“Loki mentioned her. But he said she was just another shield-maiden...”_

Loki hung his head in shame. He was going to tell her, he was going to tell her everything, if he had known she loved him.

   When he looked back up, (Y/n) was still staring at the papers. A few minutes passed before (Y/n) looked up and said, _“Why do you want me here?”_

A couple seconds passed.

 _“I. Want. To. Leave.”_ She said with her jaw clenched.

The Other bowed it’s head and the two Chitauri came and pulled her to a stand then the hologram connection flickered out.

Loki’s heart hammered in his chest; what were they going to do to her? Kill her— or worse? He ran his hand through his hair.

He needed a plan.

He pulled his hands in front of his and inspected the enchanted handcuffs: they had a golden tinge to them and, when looked upon carefully, had words written in another language on it: Τα περιουσιακά στοιχεία του Λέοντα Valdez. Loki could make out ‘Valdez’— whatever that was— but that was it.

There was the faint sound of footsteps outside, then an air pressure pump and he looked up to see the door panel sliding open. He tried not to act surprised when the Other nudged (Y/n) into the room.

Loki spread his arms as she walked to him, but he kept his eyes trained on the Chitauri leader when (Y/n) knelt down and accepted the embrace. The door slid shut and Loki held her tight to his chest.

“I’m sorry, tigress.” He said into her neck.

She pulled away but he kept his hands on her forearms, rubbing them, and asked, “Did they hurt you?”

“Only slapped me once.” She said numbly.

He thought the way she was acting was because she was cold, then said, “Take my shirt. You have to undo it from the sides, though.” She shook her head. The glare Loki gave her sent chills down her spine.

“Fine.” She muttered.

Loki raised his arms so she could undo the stitches on both sides of the shirt. It came off in two pieces. He told her to turn so he could tie it on to her.

Once he finished he finished her left side, (Y/n) turned to face him.

There were tears in her eyes and Loki cupped her face and turned it so they would be eye-to-eye, “What’s wrong, my princess?”

(Y/n) scoffed.

“Are you going to toss me away?” She asked quietly.

“Of course not. Never. Why would you say that?” Loki said, his dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

(Y/n) shut her eyes, but the tears escaped.

“No, tigress. I would never do that to you. I’d sooner kill myself.” The more he denied leaving her, the more she cried.

He wiped her tears away with his thumb.

“Is— is that what you tell all the people you’ve had relationships with?” She choked out.

Loki sighed, “No.”

Now he knew what had been on those papers, a list of names with every person he had a romantic relationship with.

“That was my past, (Y/n). That was a different me. I didn’t... _care_ about people then, or their feelings. I just... Toyed with them. I was a very manipulative man then. In retrospect, I— I think I was dead inside. I had been dead for a long time... Until I met you.”

(Y/n) let out a sob.

Loki continued, “The moment I met you, I knew you were different. I tried not to have affections towards you at first, but you had enchanted me. From your apple pies—”

she chuckled, then Loki gave you a small smile,

“to your intelligence and your sarcasm. Everything about you is so _perfect_ , so _pure_ , the creator of the universe would weep at your existence.”

(Y/n) was sobbing and crying hard now, and she buried her face in her hands. Loki tugged her onto his lap, she obliged and pressed her face into his neck.

“B-but y-y-you’ve been with g-gods and goddesses.”

Loki sighed and gently started to rock her, “Gods and goddesses are very common among the galaxy. They are very repetitive. Not at all exciting, unlike Midgardians. _They_ are much more intricate and are their own persons. And you, (Y/n) are the far most intricate and _marvelous_ one I have ever met. You are perfect the way you are, so do not begin with the silly nonsense that you’re not good enough for me. Because _I_ am not good enough for you.”

(Y/n) gripped Loki and curled up against him, sobs wracking her body and making her shake violently.

“And I mean it when I say this: I love you.” Loki rubbed her back as he felt her tears run down his neck. He felt like his heart was being stomped on every time she convulsed. They stayed like that for a long time.

After a while (Y/n) had stopped crying and pulled herself away from Loki, but he kept his arm wrapped around her.

“You better mean all of that. Or else Tony will kill you.” (Y/n) said, Loki wiped some stray tears from her face,

“Trust me, tigress. I know what I’m getting into by loving you.” He chuckled.

 _But do you?_ He silently added in his mind.

(Y/n) gave him a smile as his hand drifted down to hold the side of her neck.

She wetted her lips and her eyes flicked to his before going back up to meet his eyes.

A second after they made eye contact Loki leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes closed as Loki massaged her neck.

   His lips moved expertly and pulled her against his chest so she would be straddling one of his thighs. (Y/n) sighed into his lips. He moved his other hand up to grab a fistful of her (color) hair and gently tugged it.

Loki whispered her name then kissed her more eagerly as she ran her hand down his bare chest, making him gasp and shiver.

Footsteps came down the hall and the door opened again. Loki and (Y/n) quickly pulled apart, breathing heavy as the Other entered.

“The God of Lies has found himself yet another mate. This one won’t last as long as your other ones, Laufeyson.”

Loki glared at the Other. “Why are you here?” He asked sharply.

“We have come to release the girl.”

Then the two Chitauri came and grabbed (Y/n) and yanked her away from Loki.

“Wait! Wait!” She screamed, trying to pull away from the aliens. She kicked her foot high and yanked herself from the other Chitauri and ran back to Loki and knelt in front of him and gave him a tender, bittersweet kiss.

The Other treaded forward and yanked her up by her hair and shoved her to the Chitauri, who held onto her more tightly, then dragged her out of the room.

“I’ll find you, Loki! I promise! I’ll find you!” The door slid close, but Loki could still hear her shouts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extended conversation between (Y/n)— you— and the Other ~~~~~

 

“We have a lot to talk about.”

You scoffed, “You don’t know who I am, do you? I’m (Y/n) Stark. Tony Stark’s niece. You may remember him, he was the one who solely got rid of your pathetic ‘army’—”

It’s hand shot out and grabbed your jaw,

“You should speak carefully, Midgardian. You are the one captured, you are the one who will suffer for your own stupidity.” It roughly let go of you.

You began hesitantly, “So when my uncle finds—”

“Anthony Stark is not your uncle.” It hissed, “You share no bloodline with him. You call him by a false name as Loki Laufeyson had called Odin ‘father’.”

“Doesn’t matter.” You paused, “Who are you, anyways?”

“I am known as the Other.”

You nodded, “So, did you capture doctor Banner as well?”

“The green monster? We have no use for him.”

“Then why would you take me? Doctor Banner is much more powerful than I am.”

“You are powerful in your own ways.” The Other slid a file towards you and flipped it open, showing you a picture of you using your powers, “But those chains you’re in will keep your powers dormant.”

You sat back, “You’ve been following us.”

“ _Not_ ‘us’. _You_. There have been rumors that one of the Infinity Stones has been found on Midgard.”

“An Infinity Stone?” You asked.

The alien nodded, “The Time Gem.” It held a hologram of a green stone.

Your eyes widened, it looked so much like the orange orb in the Dark Realm. You played it cool, “But what does that have to do with me?”

The Other pushed aside the top image to reveal another one of you, but this time you were going into the Dark Realm. “We have reason to believe the ‘ _Avengers_ ’ have it in their possession, and asked you to place it there.”

You paused then looked up at it, “It’s not there.”

It slammed it’s hand on the table and shouted, “Lies! We have spies in the Asgardian house! We know from Odin that a Migardian had been listening in his conversation between the other AllFather, Zeus!”

“I don’t know anything.”

Then he slapped you. You felt like you fell into next Tuesday. You kept your head down.

“Tell me you witch!”

You took a deep breath then looked back at it, “I’m telling you: I don’t know _anything_.”

The creature templed it’s hands in front of itself, “We have other methods to make you talk.”

You stayed silent.

“But that will come later. Be grateful that I am acting so merciful.”

“Ok. Thanks.”

“There is another reason that we have captured you... We would like an alliance.”

You stared at it.

The alien stared back at you.

Then you burst out laughing, “You’re joking. You _honestly_ think you’ll get a good guy to go bad?” Your smile faded as it spoke.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. If you will not join us, we would offer... Protection.”

“Protect me? The leader of the Chitauri— who’s army tried to take over the world— wants to protect me? I can protect myself. And if the job is too big I have my teammates, so, no thanks.” You took a long moment to think, you needed to squeeze out as much information from it as possible. So you said, “But who would you want to protect me from?

“The last living Laufey.”

It took a second to realize who it was talking about, “Loki? He would never hurt me. Why wou—”

“Like I have spoken: we have been following you. I have seen the way you look upon him.”

You tried to hide your blush.

“Do you know about his past?”

“Yeah. We’ve talked.”

“Did he mention his wives?”

You shook your head, trying to compute what the Other had said, “I—I don’t understand.”

The Other reached inside the many folds of his cloak and pulled out several papers tied together. Two Chitauri entered and uncuffed you, then put handcuffed back on your hands in front of you.

You picked up and flipped through the papers, “There’s at least fifty names on here.”

“I know.”

You continued to look at the papers more closely. You closed it then looked at the top page then said, “Sigyn. Loki mentioned her. But he said she was just another shield-maiden...”

“So even the God of Lies keeps the truth from someone he presumably cares for.”

You stared at the papers.

“You shouldn’t even matter to him, of course. You are only a Midgardian. The many females— and males— he has laid with were gods and goddesses, creatures to be worshiped. Not mud apes like you.”

You stayed silent, a lump forming in your throat.

“You won’t matter to him. Humans only last about a hundred years, nothing to satisfy any creature. To every other race in the universe, you only live for a few seconds. We live for centuries. Then when you die, he will move on to another possible mate.”

“Why do you want me here?” You hated that your voice cracked.

“If you cannot find the Time Gem, and you won’t become an ally, we shall protect you. Even by your most sensitive place.”

“I. Want. To. Leave.” You said through gritted teeth.

“As you wish. But I would think you would want to see someone.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also! Percy Jackson/ Heroes of Olympus fans may be interested in translating what was written on Loki’s handcuffs :)


	9. Hate As Sharp As Ice

 

 

You fell for a few seconds, then was tumbling down a steep hill. Every now and then you would hit a tree, curse and get up, find that the mountain was still too steep, fall, and repeat.

   The time you reached the bottom you had no idea which way was up— even though you lay on your back facing the night sky. You quickly shut your eyes, hoping that would ease the spinning motion. It didn’t. You panted and get out a groan when you felt a sharp pain on the right and left side of your chest. You felt like you were going to throw up.

Painfully, you rolled over and did so.

You had never been so dizzy since you had drunkenly married Steve and Thor. Wobbly, you fell onto your back again. The adrenaline started to leave your veins and you could really feel how ice cold it was. You shivered, only to feel another spike of pain go across your chest. You clenched your hands into fists, then realized that you were still in the handcuffs, and still powerless.

You dug your heels into the snow.

Wait. Snow? Cold? Where the hell were you?

You slowly opened your eyes; the spinning had subsided and you were looking at the starry sky with tall green trees reaching up to them. You slowly sat up, wincing at the pain in your chest. Snow drifted down from the sky and the icy wind whipped around you. You quickly stood and got a head rush then pressed your hands to your side as another wave of burning pain went through you.

You looked around; the forest was dark and unforgiving.

Birds flew above your head, creating a lot of unnecessary noise.

You had no idea which way to go, or for how far or long. Climbing a tree crossed your mind, but if you couldn’t find a town from up there you would have wasted that precious time for nothing. You decided to.

You picked the nearest tree with the lowest branches and started to pull yourself up. Your breaths came out in short puffs of smoke as you continued up the thick tree.

It was much harder than it should have been, considering that your hands your cuffed together. The farther up you went, the colder and windier it got. A minute passed and you came to a point where the tree had gotten too narrow to climb, so you carefully leaned out and looked around.

Darkness in front of you.

Darkness to your left and right.

You turned around and mustered a smile at what you saw: the small, glimmer of orange light from a city. You quickly climbed down, getting multiple splinters in your arms and feet. You jumped down the last few feet.

You need to start moving or else you would die— from either hypothermia or whatever predator lived in this forest. You quickly put your left foot in front of the other, then your right foot, then your left foot. You headed into the wilderness, rubbing your hands together to try to keep them warm.

The chilling wind stung your eyes and made them water, you lowered your head as your teeth chattered furiously. You barely noticed your twisted ankle because your feet were so cold. You moved faster and tried to distract yourself with thoughts.

 _Where the hell were you? How long had the Other had you captured? What was going to happen to Loki?_ Your stomach tingled again when you thought of your kiss. Were they going to release him like they had released you?

You doubted it. You quickened your pace to a jog; partially wanting to get to the town quicker, partially frightened because of the howl a lone wolf made. You couldn’t feel the tip of your nose fingers, or toes. You were starting to feel dizzy and the coldness was quickly seeping into your bones.

You came to a clearing and saw lots of tracks in the snow. On a normal day, you would have been able to identify them, thanks to Clint teaching you to track things, but now with you dazed and sluggish from the lower-than-10-degrees-Fahrenheit temperature, you wouldn’t have been able to tell a moose track from a tire track. You continued across the large clearing, only stopping when you heard shouting.

You slowly turned around, but got dizzy when a woman grabbed your shoulder to make your action quicker. She shouted at you in Russian, but of course, you didn’t understand Russian.

“American. I’m American.” You slurred, you held up your handcuffed hands. Your eyes quickly went over her uniform to check if there was a Hydra symbol. There wasn’t.

“(Y/n) Stark. I was kidnapped... Please.” You begged, your voice was only a whisper.

She watched you try to form words then shouted to her cohorts, presumably to get their jeep started, because that’s what they did. She put an arm around you and led you to the vehicle and opened the door in the back seat then gently pushed you in, then slammed it shut.

She got into the driver seat and instructed someone to sit in the back with you. It was a young man about your age. He pulled out a thick blanket from the trunk and wrapped it around you and started slowly rubbing your shoulders.

He was saying something to you in Russian, but his voice was soft and comforting. The woman got into the driver seat with her other cohort and they floored it.

Snow flew on either side of the jeep as the woman made a sharp left turn and headed to the city. The young man shook your arm to get your attention. You faced him and he held out his hands; you were confused. He took your cold ones and put them in the air as well. He clapped his together then tapped them to yours, slowly singing a song syllable by syllable.

He wanted to play a hand-clapping game.

You went along, trying to stop your shaking as you clapped your hands like he did then pressed them to his. You did that all the way to the town, which turned out to be a city, which turned out to be St. Petersburg.

The young man introduced himself as Anton Yelchin, pointing to his name badge on his uniform. In a slur you managed to say your name.

He slowly repeated your name then said even more carefully, “You are of America?”

You nodded.

“I am... no good with English.” Aton said sheepishly, you nodded understandingly.

He reached into the trunk again and the jeep hit a bump, then he hit his head on the roof then yelled something at the women, who replied. When he sat back down he had something in his hands: a thermos. He carefully unscrewed the top and gave it to you. You slowly raised it to your lips and took a sip; it was tea.

You lowered it back down and held it in your hands, feeling the heat seep through.

“Th-th-thank y-y-y-you.” You shuddered. He pulled you close again and wrapped his arms around you, trying to keep you warm. The person in the passenger seat was speaking into a walkie talkie.

The woman made a right turn then a left and you bumped onto the unpaved road. The vehicle jolted again when the road became a brick one.

The woman honked the car horn and flashed the lights so people could move out of the streets. She pulled up in front of a hospital and parked. She was giving orders to Anton and the other man.

Anton opened the door and you followed him out and onto the sidewalk as he guided you into the hospital. You had minor trouble getting up the small flight of stairs, but made it up to the front desk just fine. The woman was talking to the person at the front desk and then she paged in for a doctor. He came down the hall and guided the four of you back where he came from.

He took you to a small room as you noticed the man on the walkie talkie was starting to get annoyed, repeated some of the same words over and over again, along with “American” and “English”.

You couldn’t focus on anything and everything went by in a daze. The doctor and gestured for you to hold out your arms. He held a bolt cutter in his hands and started on getting the non-human handcuffs off. After three tries the chain in between your wrists broke and the doctor sat you on the bed then called in for two nurses; one whom started questioning the woman who found you, and the other got thick blankets from the closet, then went out into the hall and came back with some clean clothes for you.

The doctor was now instructing you to start taking off your wet clothes, you did so, discarding whatever was left of the lower portion of your uniform and Loki’s shirt, that one you kept close to you. The nurse brought you the new clothes, which you put on, still shivering. The doctor wrapped another blanket around you and guided you to sit at the very back of the bed.

The nurse that brought you clothes was putting socks on you while you were muttering, “I need a phone... I need a phone...”

The doctor said something to the man with the walkie talkie, who shrugged and snapped something back, then continued on the walkie talkie.

The doctor was putting in heating blanket in between the two large blankets you already had. He stood up straight and dusted off his hands, probably saying that’s all he could do for now, then told one of the nurses to do something, then she left and along with everyone else.

Except Anton.

He gave you a small smile then took off his cap. He looked around the room, muttering something to himself, then let out a joyful cheer and came back to you with something: a tv remote.

He pressed a button and the tv across the small room turned on. He said something, probably “Let me know when to stop”. He slowly changed channels, letting you see what was on. If you didn’t want to watch it, you shook your head.

The nurse came back in with a bowl of soup. She sat on the edge of the bed and started spoon-feeding you.

You got excited and almost spilled the soup when your favorite tv show came on.

Granted it was in Russian, but you practically knew every line of every episode. After a few minutes you finished the soup and the woman got up and left.

You were delighted when the tv station played episode after episode. Anton didn’t understand the plot at first, but eventually got addicted. A few episodes in you had fallen asleep.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

 

When you woke up it was the early morning.

You opened your eyes and saw that you were alone. The tv was off.

You found it was extremely hot so you took off the heating blanket and winced as you did you too fast. Your hand shot to your ribs, then felt a thick cast around your chest. You tossed the blanket to the foot of your bed.

You sat up with a groan and stayed like that for a moment until you saw Loki’s shirt folded neatly next to you with a note on it.

You plucked it off the shirt and opened it, it was in Loki’s handwriting, and only read one simple word:

Tigress.

You smiled then picked up the clothing and unfolded it; the sleeves had somehow re-sewn themselves back on. You held it to your face, breathing in the familiar scent.

It was _so_ Loki: the hint of pine and something unidentifiable.

You wondered how he was able to fix it when the door to your room opened and a nurse came in, you quickly lowered the shirt.

She dropped the towels she was carrying then shouted to someone down the hall then entered. She pulled out a thermometer and stuck it in your mouth. A minute passed and she took it out of your mouth as Anton and a man you didn’t know entered.

You smiled at Anton.

He said something then the dark-haired man said, “He says that he sees you’re feeling better.”

“Yes I am, thank you.” You said, sitting up straight.

“I haven’t introduced myself, I’m Boris Yurinov. I’ll be your translator for a while. But my friends call me Boris the Blade.” He said, he had a thick Russian accent and black, shoulder-length hair with a silvery beard. You wondered why they called him ‘Boris the Blade.’ He told you where you were.

“Can you tell Anton that I really thank him for taking care of me and watching (favorite show) with me.”

Boris repeated it to the young man.

Anton blushed and bowed his head slightly, his dark curls falling into his forehead.

He spoke, then Boris translated it, “He said it was his pleasure.”

You smiled again.

Your doctor entered. He had a clipboard with several papers attached to it. He shook hands with Boris and Anton. He started reading aloud in Russian, flipping through papers and pointing at things. Boris and Anton listened intently.

Once the doctor stopped talking, Boris translated to you; you had a lot of money to pay the hospital. They cured you from your hypothermia, fixed your broken ribs and twisted ankle. “You will have to stay a few weeks to wait until you’re completely better.”

“No, no, no, no. I have to get home—”

“Speaking of home,” Boris interrupted, “How did you get here without a passport? And in a forest of all places?”

“I was kidnapped.” You said honestly. Boris translated, then the doctor told Anton to file a report.

He put on his cap— a subtle sign showing that he was on duty— then pulled out a small notepad and gestured if he could sit on the bed with you; you nodded. He asked you questions, Boris translated, you answered.

“Did you know what the person who abducted you looked like?”

You did. “No.”

“Where were you before the abduction?”

Malibu, California.

They raised their eyebrows at this.

“Was anyone with you during the abduction?”

No. You didn’t want to bring in the rest of the Avengers into this.

They asked for some personal information, which you willingly gave. Anton gave you an apologetic smile as he stood and pocketed the notepad and pencil.

“Can I have a phone, now? I need to contact my family.” You asked. Boris held out his arm. You slowly put your legs over the edge of the bed and stood. You accepted his arm and he led you down the hall— barefooted— to a pay phone.

“Do you have some change?” You asked. Boris felt around in his coat pockets then gave you a handful of coins. You muttered a thanks and then picked up the receiver and starting putting several coins into the coin slot.

You pressed the buttons, calling Tony’s phone number.

“This is Tony Stark’s voicemail,” you knew it wasn’t, “if you would like to leave a voicemail—”

“Jarvis!” You cut in, “It’s (Y—”

he redirected you to Tony’s phone, who immediately picked up.

“(Y/n)?”

“Tony, yeah, it’s me. I’m fine.”

“Where the hell are you?” He snapped. His voice echoed in the receiver slightly, and you automatically knew he was in his Iron Man suit. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m in St. Petersburg—”

“You better mean St. Petersburg, Florida.”

You sighed, “No.”

“Heading there right now. What’s the address?” You gave it to him.

“I’ll explain everything when you get here.” You said, looking nervously at Boris.

“No. You tell me right now what the hell happened.” He said firmly.

“I can’t.”

“Is someone holding you hostage?”

“Yes.” You sighed. Whenever either one of you asked that question, you had to respond with the opposite answer if you weren’t or were. Your uncle let out a tense sigh.

“There’s just... Civilians here. I don’t want to seem insane.”

“I guess.” Tony grumbled.

“I’ve been missing for one day, right?”

“Actually, thirty-eight hours, fifteen minutes and forty-three seconds, to be accurate.” Jarvis chimed in.

“Thank you, Jarvis.” Tony said flatly. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Boris tap an imaginary watch on his wrist.

“I’ve gotta go, fill out some forms or whatever.”

“Let me do that, I’ll be there in a few.”

“No, I’m already here and gotten enough freebies by being your niece. I’ll handle it. See you soon. Let the others know that you know where I am.” You quickly added in.

“Love you.”

“Love you too.” You said with smile, then hung up.

You thanked Boris for showing you where the phone was, then followed him back into the room. You sat back on the bed and reached for the clipboard of papers on the other side, then winced. You took shallow breaths as you brought it over to your lap.

Boris translated the words— and with the doctors’ guide— told you what to fill in.

   A few minutes later Tony came in wearing an expensive suit and sunglasses, swarmed by reporters. He followed a nurse into your room and quickly shut the door, keeping the press out in the hall.

“(Y/n).” He breathed, rushing to you and enveloping you in a hug. Your doctor was yelling.

“Woah woah, woah, slow down, Anna Karenina.” Tony said, standing up straight, “I’m her uncle.”

Boris translated.

“Did you sign your discharge papers?”

“They said I have to stay a few weeks.” You explained.

“No. You’re leaving today. We’ll fix you up more once you’re home.”

Boris started translating what the doctor was saying, “This is absurd... The girl has to stay. Moving her may— ”

“Listen pal.” Tony said, lowering his voice, “You’re breaking over twenty violations just by having this hospital open— which you probably wouldn’t want the board of health to find out about— I’m richer than the entirety of Russia, and I’m Iron Man. So my niece is coming home today.”

Once Boris stopped translating everyone was in silence.

Your uncle looked at you, “Aaand why are you in handcuffs? It wasn’t some sort of kinky thing...?”

“Tony,” you groaned.

Then he turned to Boris, Anton and the doctor, “If any of you put a hand on her—”

“Tony!” You jumped up, grabbing his arm, “They didn’t do anything.” You said, at the same time Boris was saying, “This is a mad man.”

“Some call me a genius but whatever.” Tony shrugged.

“Can we have some privacy, please?” You asked with a sigh.

“Of course.” Boris said, eyeing Tony. The Russians were talking to each other in their native tongue as they exited the room, then was swallowed up by the crowd of reporters.

“Ok.” Tony took off his sunglasses and looked at you in the eyes, “Tell me what happened.”

You explained to him what went down after the fight in Malibu: you and Loki were kidnapped by the Chitauri, you were taken to the leader of their race, the Other, interrogated, and was released. You quickly tossed in that the handcuffs you were wearing canceled out your powers, then told him about your entire conversation between you and the Other.

“Infinity Stones? Never heard of them. Maybe in Thor’s area of expertise?” Tony said, you nodded. He gently took your arms and inspected the remnants of the handcuffs and muttering, “I should have something at home to take these off...”

“Ok, but what are we going to do about Loki?” You asked.

Tony stood and said, “Start grabbing your things.”

You stared at him, “Tony—”

“Nightlight.”

“This isn’t funny. We need to find Loki.” You told him, grabbing Loki’s shirt and the note. Your uncle moved to the large windows, unclasped them, then pushed them open.

“You said yourself that you trust him.” Tony’s cheek twitched as he stood in the warm yellow sunlight.

“Maybe it’s for the best.”

“For the best?! We don’t know what’s happening to him!”

“Exactly.” He turned to you, “We don’t know what’s happening. For all we know he’s perfectly fine.”

“And if he’s not?”

He stayed silent.

“We still at least owe it to him to look.”

“Where?” He snapped, “One second you were in Malibu and a second later you’re in Russia. Those are freaking aliens, (Y/n)! He might not even be on Earth anymore! So enlighten me by where we start to look.”

You gritted your teeth as he stared you down.

“I see the way you two act with each other.”

You chuckled bitterly as he continued, “Acting like you two are just ‘close friends’. I’m not that oblivious.”

“Oh, so this is about you not wanting to find him because Loki likes me—”

“I had rules and you broke them!” He talked over you.

“—You don’t want to look because you don’t approve of him.”

“He’s a killer! Of course I don’t approve! You saw yourself in those videos—”

“He’s a different person now!”

“He’s the God of Lies!” Tony snapped. “Always has been, always will be.”

He summoned the suit and the pieces came flying through the open window and started attaching themselves to him.

“It’s as simple as this: you broke my rules, you deal with the consequences.” Tony said.

“I’m twenty-three!”

“You live under _my_ roof! You broke _my_ rules!”

“Then maybe I won’t live under your roof!”

Once the suit was fully assembled Tony turned to you and said, “Fine. This discussion is over. Get over here.”

“No.” “Then how will you get home?” He asked in a smart-alec tone.

“Plane! Like everyone else does.” You shoved Loki’s note in your pocket and found some slippers under the bed and put them on.

“Fine.” Tony growled. He activated the rocket boosters in his feet and blasted out the window.

You stomped over to the door and yanked it open and was immediately faced with a horde of reporters. They all shoved microphones and cameras in your face and asked questions all at the same time. You pushed your way through them, cameras clicking and flashing every second.

You made your way into the lobby and stood on your tippy toes, looking for— “Boris!” You called out. You spotted him talking with your doctor. You shoved your way to them. You quickly shook your doctors’s hand then turned to Boris.

“I need to get back to America—” he automatically knew what you were asking for because he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and dragged you away from the reporters and out a back door.

He guided you to his car and opened the door for you. You got in at the same time he got behind the wheel and started the car. He put it in drive and started heading for the nearest airport.

You let out a deep breath and pushed some hair out of your eyes, saying, “Thanks. And sorry for any trouble this’ll give you after.”

“It is no problem.” That was all Boris said. He drove you in silence all the way to the airport. When he dropped you off you told him to tell Anton that you said thank you again. Boris nodded then sped away.

You entered the airport wearing only your hospital clothes and carrying Loki’s shirt.

You got some looks.

You spoke with a security guard— who thankfully knew some English— and he guided you to where an airplane was taking off to New York City.

You waited there for three hours while the security guard talked to the person behind the podium at the gate, who kept getting transferred from the American Embassy and told to contact other people, who told them to contact the American Embassy.

Finally, after two planes had taken off, you got on the next flight. You sat down in your seat by the window, buckled up and closed your eyes. You heard two more people sit down next to you and you peeked to see who they were. You closed your eyes again.

A little while later the pilot was speaking and telling everyone to buckle in. After that the plane was taxiing and soon taking flight.

You tried— and failed— to move your thoughts to other things than your fight with Tony. You both were equally stubborn, and equally proud. The ten hour flight slowly ticked down.

“Uh, excuse me.” The woman next to you said, you turned to her. “You’re not (Y/n) Stark, Tony Stark’s niece, are you?”

“Uh, yeah. Do you want to take a picture?” You asked.

She excitedly agreed and told the person she was sitting next to to lean in while you took her phone and took a selfie of the three of you.

You handed the phone back then said that didn’t want to really talk much because you had a headache.

   You weren’t in the mood to talk about how amazing it is to be “related” to Tony Stark and be a part of the Avengers. The woman thanked you for the amazing opportunity then went back to reading her book.

You gazed out the window. How the hell were you supposed to find Loki? Thor no doubt will help, but other than that, you had no clue. You looked down at his shirt; maybe you could get Jarvis to scan for any of his DNA then do a signature sweep around the Earth.

You growled, you didn’t want to stay at Stark Towers any longer than necessary— wait. Where would you stay? You didn’t have a job that gave you money. And you’d have to start packing as soon as you got there.

But what if, like Tony said, Loki _wasn’t_ on Earth?

You cracked your knuckles, getting more mad the more you started to realize that he might be right. The woman next to you had taken out some pills from her purse and handed them to her friend. He took two then handed the bottle back to her.

“Not to intrude, but are those sleeping pills?”

“Yeah. My brother doesn’t do well with flights.”

“Do you think I could have a few? I have this horrible headache and I need to get some sleep.”

“Of course.” She said, taking out two small white capsules then handed them to you.

You swallowed them dry then let out a long sigh, closing your eyes. You thanked her once more then turned somewhat onto your side, facing the wall and using the green piece of clothing as a pillow.

After a few minutes you simply fell asleep, but it wasn’t as peaceful as you hoped.

You heard a voice all around yourself, it was Loki’s. He was babbling on about something but you couldn’t understand because his voice kept overlapping itself. You tried to ask what he was saying but he just kept talking nonsense.

A flight attendant shook you awake and she told you the plane had landed. You nodded then got up and walked down the carpeted aisle to the front of the plane.

You found that some people from the American Embassy were waiting for you to take you home. They drove you in their car to Stark Towers and dropped you off. You gave them a million thanks as you got out and stepped onto the sidewalk. They watched you enter the large building.

You walked across the lobby, the man sitting at the front desk greeted you as usual and you waved. You pressed the button for the elevator and you waited a minute, silently cursing out Tony Stark in your mind. The elevator came and you entered. The doors slid shut and automatically moved upwards.

“I’m very glad to see that you’re back Miss.” Jarvis said. “But your stress levels seem to be—” you shot a glare at the camera and he instantly stopped talking. The doors opened to your floor and everything was deathly quiet.

 

And you were pissed.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! New chapter is up, sorry if it’s too long though. I try to keep them about the same length, but I guess it kinda snowballed. 
> 
> You and Tony get into an argument?!? *gasp* that’s exactly what families do, then again. Glad all of you like it!
> 
> Love you precious people!! <3  
> ~ClevaChloe


	10. Agendas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw yessssss, Chapter 10. This chapter will tell you about why Odin REALLY sent Loki to Earth. And thanks for everyone reading this fic and giving kudos

 

 

You stepped out into the large room. Dawn shone through the large windows. You slowly looked around the room. Clint sat on the edge of the marble island eating a bowl of cereal. He looked your way and chocked on a spoonful.

He set down the bowl and worked on properly swallowing the food. Once he did he hoped down and walked over to you and said, “Hey, (Y/n). I—I’m glad to see you’re back.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Clint was, of course, sent out first to see what mood you were in.

“Did Russia treat you well?” He asked nervously.

“I’m not in the mood, Barton.” You growled, “Where’s Thor?”

“He’s in his room.”

“Thanks.” You walked by him, patting him on the back.

Once you were a good distance away he let out a shuddering breath.

 

You banged on Thor’s door before entering. “Thor, I’m sorry to barge in like this—”

“It’s fine, Lady (Y/n). What is the matter?” He sat up and placed the blanket over his lap then pushed some blonde strands of hair out of his eyes.

He didn’t bother putting on a shirt. Or pants.

Most of your anger faded away when you saw the concern in his eyes.

“Loki—” your voice caught when you said his name.

“What about my brother? Where is he?” Thor asked, sitting at the edge of his bed, “He was with you, was he not?”

You shook your head then handed the shirt to him.

You explained to him what happened.

Thor nodded slowly as he carefully took the shirt from your hands. You told him about the Time Gem and how you thought you had it.

You finished saying,

“You know I love Loki as much as you do. And I’ll do anything to help find him.”

He held the article of clothing close to his face then suddenly looked up at you then said, “I know someone who could help.”

 

~~~~~~

 

“Oh. My. God.” Darcy breathed.

Jane nudged her in the ribs and stepped out of the elevator. She spotted her Asgardian boyfriend.

“Thor.”

She dropped her luggage of equipment and ran to him. Darcy grumbled something about boyfriends who don’t show up for a year when you came and picked up what Jane had dropped, then was surprised how heavy it was.

“I’m (Y/n). I would shake your hand but,” you shook the bags.

“Right.” Darcy nodded, “I’m Darcy Lewis. Jane’s intern.” She introduced herself as she followed you to the long table the four of you were going to work on.

“How long have you been working with Jane?” You asked, heaving the bags onto the table.

“About three years now.”

The two of you watched Jane and Thor have an argument.

Natasha came down the hall wearing her uniform. Darcy noticed and her jaw dropped. You nodded to the red-head and she came your way.

“Who are they?” Nat asked you.

“They’re gonna help find you-know-who.” You said.

“So they don’t know?” She asked in a hushed whisper.

You shook your head.

“You’re— you’re—” Darcy stumbled over her words before finally blurting out,

“you’re _badass_!”

Natasha smiled then said, “I like her.”

“Nat, this is Darcy Lewis. Darcy, this is Natasha, a.k.a., the Black Widow. And that,” you nodded over to the arguing couple, “is Jane Foster.”

“Are the other Avengers here too? Captain America? He’s a hunk.” Darcy asked, looking down the hall where Natasha had come from.

“Everyone’s here. But they’re too scared to come out and face me.”

“She’s pissed.” Natasha explained.

You didn’t notice Thor and Jane had stopped arguing when the scientist had come over and shook Natasha’s hand, saying how it was an honor to meet you.

Jane had moved over and started taking out her equipment on placing them on the table. She snapped her fingers in front of Darcy’s face and asked her to help unpack.

“Listen, (Y/n), Tony has been drinking ever since he got back— he’s still trying to finish another pack of beer.”

“And this matters to me, why?” You asked,

“I’m just saying that if he comes out he will be completely drunk. Just wanted to warn you.” Nat explained.

“Ok, thanks.” You let out a sigh.

“So, what should I report back to the boys?” She asked.

“Tell them I still don’t want to see Tony. And my face is as red as your hair.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, they know how pissed I can get.” You said.

Nat shrugged then went back down the hall.

You turned your attention to Jane as she set up some machines and plugged them into each other and pressed a few buttons. She was explaining something about quantum physics and space, but she was talking a mile minute and you could barely understand what she was saying, even if if she had slowed down.

“But I have to admit it _will_ take a while for everything to warm up.” Jane said, putting a hand on her hip.

“Ok.” You said. You took Loki’s shirt and placed it on the opposite end of the table and laid it out flat.

“So who is this mystery person we’re looking for?” Darcy asked while you pressed a few buttons on the touch screen tabletop.

“He’s a friend.” You said. You flicked your hands into the air and a blue hologram appeared a few inches above the shirt and two laser lights moved up and down the shirt, scanning for any DNA.

“Why are you wearing those handcuffs?” Jane asked.

Your hand hovered over a blue dial with some numbers next to it. You turned it to the right and tapped in a few codes, “Got kidnapped two days ago. These prevent me from using my powers. It’s a long story.”

Jane nodded. “So what are your powers?” Darcy asked, leaning against the table.

“Controlling shadows.” You said, quickly putting up several videos of you using your powers.

Darcy and Jane moved over to see them.

“Wow. That’s... amazing.” Jane breathed. “Were you born with them?”

“Maybe it’s Maybelline.” Darcy said under her breath.

“Yeah.” You lowered your hands and watched the laser lights crisscross over the shirt. You turned the videos off as the smell of caramel coffee brewing made you swivel your head and your anger resurface.

“You’re—You’re Tony Stark.” Jane said as he went out and got a mug from a cupboard.

“The one and only.” He said, putting the mug under the coffee dispenser. “And what are two lovely ladies doing in my building, Jarvis?”

“I invited them.” Thor said, stepping forward, “I was hoping they could help us look for our _friend_.”

“Oh, you mean the former villain.” Your uncle said, reaching to a low cabinet and pulled out a bottle of alcohol and poured a generous amount in his mug. He put his free hand in his pocket and took a sip of his drink, walking forward to Thor.

“Emphasis on ‘ _former_ ’.” You said, looking back at the scanner.

“Wait a second. Who are we looking for?” Jane asked.

“And no more cryptic answers.” Darcy jumped in.

“They’re looking for Loki.” Tony said.

Everyone turned to face him; Jane and Darcy’s mouths dropped.

“Oh, you know, the guy with the golden horns who tried to take over the world several months ago? He destroyed New York, killed several hundred people in his wake... That guy.”

“Tony.” Thor growled.

“What?” Tony spread his arm.

“Wait, we’re looking for a killer?” Jane asked, turning to Thor.

“We’re looking for my _brother_ ,” he said, resting his hand on her upper arm, “Loki is a different man now, better than before. His mind was corrupted by vengeance and greed. But now he is not.”

“So w-what, you’re asking me to look for a monster?” She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

You winced at her last word.

“He’s not a monster, he is my brother. And I ask you to trust me.” Thor said, then gave her the puppy eyes.

“I don’t know.” She said, stepping away from him, “It feels morally wrong. I mean, you’re trying to find a guy who killed people. I feel like it’s not fair for the deceased.” Jane explained.

“And (Y/n), don’t you hate him?” Tony asked, turning to you. You took notice that he called you by your name.

“Actually, no, I don’t. He’s my closest friend. And guess what? He saved my life.”

You turned to him, “Remember, Tony? Rocket missile— the whole nine yards— headed straight towards me? Yeah, who saved me?”

You stared at him as he glared at you.

“What? I—I can’t hear you.” You leaned toward him and cupped a hand around your ear,

“Say it louder for the people in the back.”

You stood up straight and crossed your arms and said, “That’s right. Loki pushed me out of the way. If he hadn’t I wouldn’t be here to be pissed at you right now.” You snapped.

“Well then maybe he _shouldn’t_ have.” He said venomously.

There was an audible gasp from the others and it felt like someone gave a hard squeeze to your heart. Thor grabbed Tony by the front of his shirt and dragged him to the opposite end of the room to the kitchen and grabbed the cup of coffee and threw it into the sink and it made a shattering noise.

“He’s just drunk, he’s just drunk. He doesn’t mean it, (Y/n), he’s just drunk.” You muttered to yourself, but you just couldn’t believe yourself.

“That is messed up.” Darcy said, watching Thor and Tony argue.

“Are you alright? Does he usually act like that?” Jane asked you.

You lowered your head and took in a few deep breaths, ignoring the small sharp pains from your ribs. “No, no. He’s just drunk.” You said.

You closed your eyes to hide the fact there were tears in them. Tony was the only person who took you in; you knew he didn’t need to, in fact, you had cost him several business deals because he had to raise you. And you were always grateful for him. He was the only person you had. Now that he said that...

“I—I need a— Jarvis, let me know when the scanning comes out.” You said.

“Yes Miss.”

Then you quickly went to your room and slammed the door. You bit your knuckles to prevent yourself from screaming. Tears stung your eyes as you sat on your bed and pulled out your phone. Your fingers shook slightly as you called Pepper.

After the third ring she picked up, “Hey, (Y/n). How are you?”

“Control your boyfriend.” You snapped, then immediately hung up and threw your phone across the room. You fell onto your pillow and stressfully pulled at your hair, wishing Loki was here.

Your head turned and spotted your large jewelry on the bed-side table, it had been a gift from Tony on your birthday a few weeks ago. You turned away from it and buried your face in your pillow and let out a muffled scream. You let it die down eventually and just huffed into the pillow. Once you felt like you were suffocating, you sat up cross-legged and rested your elbow on your knee, rubbing your temple. You came to your decision and got up and yanked open your room door and walked down the hall, passing the rest of the Avengers’ rooms.

“(Y/n)!” Thor shouted. He sprinted down the hall to follow you, but you sped up so you reached the end of the hall and opened the large broom closet. You walked in and moved some brooms and mops out of the way.

“Lady (Y/n), what are you doing?” He asked, catching multiple brooms that fell in his face.

“Tony doesn’t want me here, so I’ll leave.” You said with a slight sniffle.

“(Y/n), you know he truly doesn’t mean that. He was under the impression—”

“When is he ever NOT under the impression of alcohol, Thor?!” You said, yanking out several packing boxes of different sizes out from next to a large shelf. You pulled them out of the closet, not caring of the mess you left behind.

“(Y/n), wait, please.” Thor said, catching up to you again as you went back into your room.

Barton came down the hall heading your way. He was sweating and in a grey t-shirt and black pants. “What’s going on? Everyone’s stomping.” He said, then watched you pull the boxes into your room.

“(Y/n) appears to be leaving.” Thor explained outside your door.

You tossed the collapsed boxes roughly onto your bed then pulled one off and started making one.

“(Y/n), you know how he is when he gets drunk.” Clint sighed, entering the room and watching you dump your Foosball trophies into the box.

“You can’t just leave your family, (Y/n).” He said sternly.

“Watch me.” You snapped, grabbing your fandom things from your other shelves and tossing them in the box as well.

“I don’t just mean Tony. I mean the rest of us; Nat, Bruce, Steve— all of us.”

You ignored him and opened a smaller box and started putting your clothes in it.

“And what about Loki? He’s not part of the family?” You already knew his answer.

“Well it’d be kinda creepy if you were in love with your family member like _that_.” Clint said, crossing his arms.

You stopped and turned to him. That was _not_ the answer you expected.

“I’ve seen the you two are with each other, you’re the only one— besides Thor— that he seems to really care about.”

You were about to ask how he knew but he interrupted you,

“They don’t call me ‘Hawkeye’ for no reason.” He smirked. He approached you and put his hand on yours, stopping you from making another box, “And you should ask yourself that question. If you leave, we all know you probably wouldn’t come back. So how would that help to look for Loki?”

You thought about that. You realized if you had walked out of Stark towers it would have been for good (curse your stupid pride), and you would have quit the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., cutting off any ties to your uncle.

“All I’m asking is that you stay— until you find Loki. Then you can disappear into the world and travel to your hearts content. Alright, sis?”

You stared at the folded box in your hands, your mind blank.

“Fine.” You said it without care, as if your mind was on autopilot.

Clint smiled and wrapped his arms around your waist and picked you up, giving you a big kiss on the cheek. You struggled against him and he dropped you.

“Clint, you stink. Go take a shower.” You said with a small smile.

“Fine.” He smiled then left the room.

You approached Thor and rubbed your eyes, “Did Jane say when her equipment would be ready?”

“She said it might be a few hours.” He walked and talked as the two of you headed back into the main room.

Tony was sleeping face down on the couch.

“Anything, Jarvis?”

“Not yet, Miss.” You approached the table where Loki’s shirt was still being scanned.

“Can you take these cuffs off?” You asked.

“Of course.” A small laser popped out from the table and you placed your wrists underneath. “Try not to move.” Jarvis said, then the laser activated and carefully sliced through the metal around both your wrists and the fell off.

“Thank you.” You said, running your hands over where the handcuffs were on you.

“It was my pleasure.” Jarvis responded as the laser disappeared into the table.

“It’s an AI?” Jane asked, “Yeah.”

“Cool.” Darcy commented, fixing her glasses. There was a small beeping sound and a blue hologram of the Earth appeared.

“I seem to have found a strand of his hair, Miss.” Jarvis said. “I’m searching for the signature now.”

“Thank you so, so much.” You said with a smile.

“Now that I got these off me, I’m gonna go change into my uniform.” You said, then walked down the hall and back to your room. You shut the door and approached your half empt dresser and pulled out your Avengers uniform. You stripped off your hospital clothes and put the rubbery cat suit and zipped up the front. You grabbed the gun holsters and attached them to your thighs.

You turned your hands in the air, making Darkness swirl around, you smiled then made it vanish as you lowered your arms. You left your room and headed back to the others and heard Thor talking, “Why haven’t I thought of this before?” He hit himself on the forehead and summoned Mjölnir, then headed to the large balcony.

“Thought of what?” Jane asked, the three of you followed him.

“I should have asked Heimdall. He can see all, he must be able to see where Loki is.”

“Wait, you’re going back to Asgard?” Jane asked, her face crestfallen. All of you stopped outside.

“It will only be for a moment. And I must tell my mother and father what has happened to Loki.” Thor explained, lacing his fingers with Janes’.

“I will not be gone long. I promise.”

“For real this time?” Jane asked, “Because last time you said that you were gone for—”

he silenced her by tilting her head up and gently pressing his lips to hers.

“Woah.” Darcy whispered, watching them.

You were reminded of your second and last kiss with Loki.

You turned your head away and looked down at the bustling city below.

Thor pulled away and whispered something to Jane that you couldn’t couldn’t hear.

He walked away to the far end and looked up to the sky. There was a blast of light and swirling colors then it vanished, taking Thor with it.

Jane let out a sigh then walked back inside. You gave a glare to Tony’s sleeping body before turning back to the hologram of the Earth. You pulled the note out of your pocket and looked at it.

His handwriting was neat and calm, as if he wasn’t being held captive.

“Do you love him?” Jane asked, tweaking something that looked like a mini satellite.

“I think so.” You said. You wouldn’t have admitted that to anyone else, and you took comfort that you were talking to another girl. Jane’s face scrunched up in subtle grimace.

“Have you two shacked-up?” Darcy asked.

“Darcy!” Jane snapped.

“What? It’s a scientific question.” Darcy said.

“No.” You said, embarrassed. “We just... I almost killed him, he saved my life... We’re close.”

“Even after all he did?” Jane asked, looking up from some electronic.

“I know.” You paused, “He said he was brainwashed.”

“And you believed him?” She asked with a hint of disbelief.

“He’s been helping us, covered our asses a few times on some missions, yeah, we’ve trusted him.” You explained.

“You didn’t answer my question though: do you believe him?” Jane asked, crossing her arms.

“Yeah. Of course.” You said. She raised her eyebrows and turned back to tweaking.

“What?”

“What?” She turned back to you.

“You made a face.” You told her.

“No, I was just wondering how someone could trust— even _love_ — a monster.”

You winced at the word again.

“Thor’s not perfect himself.” You said, keeping your voice even. “There _was_ a time when he _did_ want to wipe out an entire race.”

“When did he tell you that?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“No, not Thor. Loki told me.”

“Yeah, well, Thor’s changed. And he wanted to, so he didn’t.” Jane said, taking a step forward.

“Loki’s changed, too.”

“The only difference is that he _actually_  killed people. _innocent_ people.”

You stayed silent at that, knowing she was right. “Like I said, he’s changed.” You subconsciously took a defensive stance, your feet placed shoulder-width apart.

“ _Right_.” She said sarcastically.

“I don’t think it’s smart to piss off the person with a gun.” Darcy whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

“No, no, it’s alright. Not good for publicity if an Avenger hurts a civilian.” You joked. You went over to the kitchen area and opened the fully stocked fridge and pulled out some orange juice. You got a cup and poured some in, then put the large container back in the fridge.

You let out a tense sigh; there was something about Jane— even when you first met her— that just rubbed you the wrong way. “So, now that you have those handcuffs off, can you use your powers?” Darcy asked.

“Yeah.” You strode back to the table and set down your drink. One-handedly you made a life-size Dark moose appear and approach Darcy.

“Wow!” She gasped, “Can I touch it?”

You nodded. You couldn’t help but smirk as you saw Jane was equally impressed and stunned. Hesitantly Darcy put her hand on it’s large nose and rubbed it, “It’s cold.” She commented.

You made it shrink and she jumped as you turned it into Darkness floating around the air. “I can also make illusions. You watch The Walking Dead?”

“Hells yeah!” Darcy said excitedly.

“Favorite character?” You asked.

“Michonne. She’s way cool.” You moved both your hands and the Darkness formed into a the 3-dimensional illusion of the fictional character, complete with her Katana sword.

“These take a little more out of me.” You said, making your illusion point her sword at Jane, “And these you can’t touch.”

Darcy pouted when you changed Michonne and made another person: Loki.

You grinned and made him approach you and smile back. You made him clasp his hands behind his back and nod to Darcy and Jane. He was a head taller than you, as in real life, and he smiled down at you, you made him almost break into a laugh, making his eyes light up.

“Major heart-eyes.” You heard Darcy mumble.

You don’t know why, but you made him look sad as you waved your hands and made him dissipate. “But yeah, that’s the gist of it.” You explained, then took a sip of your orange juice.

There was a sound of a sonic boom and the bright light slammed onto the large balcony, waited there a few seconds, then retreated back into the sky, leaving Thor standing there.

He was wearing his more formal armor, including a red cape. He briskly entered the building and shook his head gravely, “Heimdall cannot see him.”

You clenched your fist. “Jarvis, broaden the search.” You said.

“How far?” “As far as you can. Access as many satellites, telescopes, whatever you can.” You said.

The hologram of the Earth zoomed out to show the Milky Way. “This is within my full capacity, Miss. It will take a while to scan through the entire galaxy.” Jarvis explained.

You gritted your teeth and drank the rest of the orange liquid before slightly slamming the cup back down. You huffed.

“(Y/n).” Thor said, “Odin has told me why he had sent Loki down to us.”

“Because of punishment... Right?” Thor shook his head, “My father has told me that the true reason why he had sent Loki down because he wanted to find the Time Gem as well, and thought Loki could find it since he has knowledge of the Infinity Stones. My father had thought, as well as the Other, that one of the Avengers had it hidden...”

“So the only reason why Loki got close to me, was to find the Time Gem?” You muttered,

“No, no. Odin had not expected for Loki to become affectionate towards you. That was not his plan. My father only simply wanted another Infinity Stone out of harms reach. And I would like to return it.” Thor said.

You slowly registered everything he said then replied with, “No. If the Other and the Chitauri want the Time Gem we’ll keep it, try— try to hold it for ransom? Once they give us Loki then we’ll kill them where they stand.”

“I do not think that would be wise—”

“We’re gonna try everything we can to get him back. right? We’re gonna try to do this, then.”

Thor bowed his head in a slight nod.

Jane quickly turned back to her multiple instrument when one of them lit up.

“Ok, they’re ready. We need some of his DNA.” She said.

You carefully picked up the green shirt and found the long black strand of hair and carefully passed it to her and she opened a small door and placed if inside then closed it. “

And you’re sure it will work?” Thor asked.

“Very. But I never got to find out because you had come to Earth after I started searching for you in New Mexico.” Jane said, pressing some buttons and moving a few small levers up and down.

The small satellite started twitching back and forth, making a steady beeping sound.

Tony started snoring on the couch.

 

~~~~~

 

Steve, Nat, Clint and Bruce came out and Jane and Darcy tried not to swarm them and ask them a million and one questions.

“Have you found anything?” Clint asked, walking up to you.

“No.” You grumbled, leaning against the table.

“(Y/n), you need to sleep. You’ve been up for more than twelve hours. I’ll keep an eye on this.”

You let out a sigh and lowered your head. Clint rested his hands on your shoulders and started to massage the area. You let him do that for a minute before muttering a thank you and trudging to your room.

You shut the door behind you and laid yourself on your bed not bothering to change. The last twenty-four hours had been a roller coaster for you, and sleep was exactly what you needed. You wrapped your arms under your pillow and stayed on your stomach, your head facing the wall.

You closed your eyes and drifted off into sleep and dreamt.

 

 


	11. Hopes And Dreams

 

 

You were in Disney World.

You had this dream a few times, you recalled. It was when Tony had taken you and the Avengers there for your birthday three weeks ago. Pepper and you cheered your ice creams and proceeded to lick it.

The Avengers also had ice creams, which Tony thoughtfully picked out for each one: Steve had an ice pop designed like his shield; Bruce and Thor had one designed like the their faces, and Tony had one designed like his face shield.

Pepper, Natasha, Clint and you had gotten normal, (flavor) Mister Softee ice creams. Loki didn’t want any, not understanding why someone would want to eat something cold. The nine of you walked through the crowd of people, screams of laughter came from your right at a ride. You enjoyed the dream, knowing everything that would happen.

Except, this dream didn’t follow like the others.

Loki went over to your side and grabbed your arm, stopping you. The rest of the Avengers continued on without a question. “Wait, Loki, we’re going to get lost.” You said, looking around to see where the rest of your teammates went. You didn’t remember this.

You started to close your eyes but Loki shook you, “Please, don’t.”

You opened your eyes and he said, “Follow me.” He took your hand and led you through the crowd, grumbling things about this nonsense of foot traffic and why someone would be so obsessed with an anthropomorphic mouse. He took you to the Norway section of Epcot.

Children laughed all around you, a Mickey Mouse eared shaped balloon hit you in the face.

“Where are we going?” You asked again, looking around for anyone familiar.

He pulled you down to a two seater table, saying, “You need to focus, but stay calm. Ground yourself in the dream. Stimulate your senses, rub your hands together, do some simple maths in your head.” Loki instructed.

Your ice cream wasn’t in your hand and you started rubbing your palms together.

“What’s two plus two?”

“Four.” You answered, focusing on feeling the grating on the metal table.

“Six plus six?”

“Twelve.”

“Two thousand, seven hundred forty-four plus eight?” He tested you.

“Two thousand, seven hundred fifty-one.”

“Very good.” He smiled, then got up and gave you a kiss on the forehead then sat down again. A waiter brought two dishes of what he said was roasted pork loin with cardamom-currant jelly sauce.

You thanked him and turned back to Loki who was already picking up his utensils and saying to himself, “They have these on Migard as well?” Then started eating.

“I don’t know what’s going on.” You said.

Loki swallowed his bite of food and set down his utensils, “You’re dreaming, (Y/n). But I’m real. Just before the Chitauri took you away I created a link between our souls so I could speak to you through dreams, do you understand?”

You nodded slowly. A man went up to Loki and asked him to take a picture of his family. Loki’s lips curled in distaste, but you got up and took the picture instead. You handed the camera back to the man and sat down in front of Loki again.

“I... I don’t remember this happening.”

Loki sighed, “I know it’s hard to understand, hard to compute at first, but after a few meetings you’ll be more attentive.” And Loki began eating again.

“But... But...” You had no idea what you were going to ask, so you changed it to, “Are you real?”

He nodded.

“How can I be sure? You know I have a pretty active imagination.”

Loki smiled a small smile and nodded. “I remember. And to answer your question; when you wake up, tell Thor that the Bildshnipe have died in battle.”

You raised an eyebrow, but you shook his response off. “Where are you?”

“Still in the ship with the Other and his army, I suppose. Unless they moved me elsewhere.” He winced and dropped his fork, it clattered on the plate. He slammed his fists in the table and squeezed his eyes shut, his nostrils flared.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, getting up.

He shook his head quickly and panted. You saw his left cheek turn bright red, as if someone slapped him. He let out a little groan then opened his eyes and gave you a weak smile.

“They beat me earlier, I mustn’t remember, though, or I’ll feel it in this dimension.” He paused, “I’m alright, now. Sit. You haven’t eaten in two days.”

You slowly sat back down, but didn’t touch your food. “Loki. Tell me where you are.”

“I don’t know where I am.” He said, starting to become irritated.

“Try to find out. Jarvis can’t find out. Even Jane—”

“Jane? Thor’s mortal?”

“Yeah. She’s trying to help find you, albeit hesitantly, but she’s helping. If you can find out where you are and— and send out a signal large enough or long enough to be picked up on the sensors in the Milky Way— we can find you.”

He leaned back in his chair and rested his elbow on his left arm, his knuckles brushing against his lips as he thought. After what seemed like forever, he responded, “I’ll see what I can do.”

He looked up and saw that you were starting to drift off. He got up and his chair knocked over as he rushed to you, “(Y/n). Tigress, wake up.” He cupped your face and you opened your eyes, meeting his amazing green ones.

“You’re starting to wake from this dream. You need to remember the message you need to pass to Thor.” You nodded groggily. If it weren’t for Loki’s hands, your head would have fallen forward.

 

 

 

You opened your eyes and saw that Steve was standing over you. “I didn’t want to disturb you, but we’re heading out to lunch. Wanna come?”

You sat up rubbed your eyes, finding that there were tears in them.

“If you don’t—” you held up a hand, stopping him and said, “Hold on, hold on. I was dreaming about something... Important.”

You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to remember. You hit yourself on the forehead twice then Steve jumped in,

“Hey, hey, don’t do that. You’ll remember later.”

You sighed then opened your eyes. “Ok.” You stood and stretched, “Where’re we gonna eat?”

“The Shawarma joint?” You nodded then rifled through your box and pulled out some civilian clothes and asked for some privacy.

Steve left your room and shut the door behind himself. You exchanged your uniform for your casual clothes as your mind wandered, trying to remember what your dream was about. You pulled your shirt over your head and opened some of the nightstand drawers, looking for your phone. When it wasn’t there you stood up straight and looked around room room.

You mouthed an “oh” when you found it on the floor then remembered why it ended up there. You swiped it up and checked the time:

it was two thirty P.M.

You had been asleep for eight hours. You put your phone in your pocket and exited your room.

You went back to the main room and saw everyone getting ready to enter the elevator, even Darcy and Jane. Tony still lay sleeping on the couch. Bruce waved to you and you did the same.

“Have a nice nap?” Clint asked.

“Yeah. But you should have waken me up at the five hour mark.” You said, slightly joking, slightly serious. The doors closed as Thor squeezed forward and pressed the button to the first floor. Jarvis played some elevator music, which made you crack a smile.

The doors opened and Pepper was standing there, “Hey, guys. Where’s Tony?” She spotted you, “(Y/n)! What happened? You called and then it just cut out.”

You moved forward so everyone could step out, “Yeah, I’m sorry. Tony was drunk a-and said something to me. I shouldn’t have overreacted like that.” You lied.

“No, you reacted exactly the way anyone would have.” Thor said, stopping next to you, “Tony had said Loki shouldn’t have saved her from the missile at Lady Mary’s wedding.”

Pepper gasped.

Thor continued, “He’s upstairs unconscious on the couch.”

“Unconscious?” You and Pepper said simultaneously.

“Yes. We had gotten into an argument and he said more vulgar things, and I punched him then put him on the couch.”

“Ok.” Pepper said, exasperated. She entered the elevator and pressed the button to go up.

As the doors slid close, you and Thor caught up with everyone else at the front doors. Clint was the first one out and moved to the side, waiting for everyone else to join him. He talked with Natasha about a new James Bond movie, and how they should have picked _him_ for the role and not that Daniel Craig guy.

You stepped next to Dr. Banner. “Hey, Bruce.”

“Hey, (Y/n). How are you?”

“Tired. I’m probably never going to Russia again.”

Bruce chuckled.

“Hey, I was wondering... I know you— and everyone, for that matter— don’t like Loki. But it would mean the world if—”

“I already am.” He said. Your group stopped walking as the walk signal turned into a red hand; cars drove by.

“It’s hard though, we don’t have much DNA of his. I can only do as much as Jarvis can.”

You nodded solemnly, “Thank you, though.”

Bruce nodded. Everyone crossed the street at the same time and went down the busy sidewalk. You could overhear Darcy talking to Steve, asking about his past. Your group entered the Shawarma joint, which usually wasn’t crowded.

You all sat down at the largest table and a woman came and took your orders, which where meat-laden falafels and subs.

Jane was the only one who ate a salad.

Thor ordered basically everything from the menu, not including a Snapple. Another waiter had to bring over another table to fit the rest of his food.

Natasha saw your troubled face then nudged Clint, then subtlety looked over to you.

Clint cleared his throat, “Hey (Y/n), did we ever tell you about when we captured Loki, Tony _insisted_ that we come here right after?”

“No.”

Clint broke out into a small smile, remembering, “Once we had him surrounded in Stark Towers, Tony absolutely went on a rant that if he did not get some shawarma in two hours, he would go insane.”

You shook your head and smile, glancing over as the waiter bright Thor more food.

“So we came here— everything was destroyed, there was nobody on the street, and I found this half melted bike chain and tied Loki around to a parking meter out front. Thor put his hammer on his knees just to make sure he wouldn’t get away. After a while Thor had tried to hand-feed him. It was hilarious.”

You smiled and took a bite of your steak falafel. The waiter was still putting down food for Thor, who had already scarfed down three. You almost fell out of your chair when the waiter announced that the last thing he was giving to Thor was a pork loin falafel with other ingredients.

Everyone stared at you as you suddenly stood, finishing the piece of food in your mouth.

“What’s wrong?” Jane asked.

“I—I had a dream when I took a nap and I think it was an important one.”

You thought hard then broke into a grin and felt satisfaction run through your veins, “Loki was communicating to me through his dreams. We were at Disney World.”

“Like when we were there for your birthday?” Bruce asked,

“Yeah...” You looked at the table.

“How do you know that it just wasn’t a dream?” Clint asked, taking a sip of his drink, “We all know that you have an active imagination.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You muttered, trying to remember every detail.

You looked up at Thor, “He told me to tell you that the Bildshnipe have died in battle.”

His eyes widened then said, “That is my brother. The used to play warriors when we were children and that was one of our adventures. Did he say where he was?”

“No. He said probably still in the cell where the Other had put us. But he doesn’t know where _that_ is.” Thor nodded then asked, “What was is physical state? Was he hurt?”

You broke your gaze with his, “They said they beat him earlier, but I didn’t see any marks until he remembered it.”

“What kind marks?” Thor asked tensely,

“His cheek turned red, like someone had slapped him, but that was all I was able to see...”

The room became scarily quiet. Thor shoved the small table next to him, making it topple over then stormed out of the room. You stayed standing up, rubbing your thumbs against the table, deciding on what to do next.

“Banner, come with me.” You said, leaving the restaurant. You came out onto the busy sidewalk and looked around for Thor. You found him on the curb with Mjölnir resting on the ground, he was staring at the waves of people. You rushed to him with Banner following.

“Thor! Thor, I know how you feel.” You said, standing in front of him and looking into his light blue eyes. Tears brimmed them.

You cupped his face with both of your hands, “We’ll find him, I promise.”

He held your wrists and whispered hoarsely, “I can’t let my little brother get hurt. Not again.”

“I know, I know.”

“Has he written any letters?” Bruce asked, stepping closer and fixing his glasses, “His saliva could help a lot more in finding him.”

Thor started to shake his head, but then stopped and said, “Yes. Quite a few. They reside in Asgard, of course.”

Out of the corner of your eyes you saw the rest of the Avengers and Jane and Darcy head your way. “Ok. Let’s head to Stark Towers first before we leave.” You said, then walked into an ally with the rest of your friends in tow.

Once they caught up with you, you opened a portal and you all entered as you opened another one in Stark Towers. You immediately went and changed again into your uniform, saying to yourself that it was going to be the last time you change into that for the day.

You came out into the living room and saw everyone else had changed into their uniforms as well. Tony was awake and sitting on the couch talking to Pepper. When you entered they stopped talking and Pepper stood and pulled Tony up and the two of you approached each other.

The rest of the Avenger’s watched the two of you stare at each other.

You kept your head held high as Pepper nudged Tony in the back.

“What are you doing?” He finally asked in a monotone voice.

“Thor has a plan. We’re going to Asgard.” You answered simply.

Pepper pinched her boyfriend in the neck and he yelped, moving away from her, “Tell her.” She snapped.

Tony let out a long groan then said quickly through gritted teeth, “I’m sorry for the way I acted and I shouldn’t have said what I said.” He glanced at Pepper, “Ok?”

“You know what? Forget it. An apology means nothing if you don’t mean it.” You growled, then turned to face the rest of your teammates.

“Bruce, you’ll stay here with this one,” you jabbed your thumb over your shoulder to Tony, “so you can see if you can get anything else out of that strand of hair.”

He nodded then suddenly said, “But if I do find something, how will I contact you?”

“Heimdall will watch you, and when you do find something, stand outside and he will summon you to Asgard, from there he will tell you where we are.” Thor explained as Clint fixed some arrows in his quiver.

“Ready?” The rest of your teammates nodded then you gave a hug and a kiss to Pepper saying, “I’ll try to get back soon.”

“There’s no rush, just do what you have to do. And stay safe.”

“You too.” You said, before walking out to the balcony. The wind whipped your hair around your face and you stopped where Thor had when he went to Asgard.

He raised Mjölnir to the sky and there was a sonic boom again, and you saw the swirl of bright colors crash to the balcony, and pulling you in, then you were flying in space.

 

 

 


	12. City Of Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah, sorry this chapter took so long, but here it is! <3 <3 <3 <3

 

Space blurred by in colors and bright light, then suddenly you were on the ground and you stumbled forward. _So that’s what Loki meant when I had to hold onto something_ , you thought.

You stood up straight and looked around. You were in a golden domed room. A man in golden armor and a matching helmet with slightly curved horns coming out of either side of the helmet stood on a slightly raised platform. He pulled a gold sword out from a slot and put the tip on the ground, resting both hands on the hilt.

“Ah, Thor, back so soon.” He had a voice so deep he would have been a perfect fit if the ocean had a voice. “With his friends as well.”

“We’ve had new information.” Thor said, stepping forward. “Heimdall, this is Steve Rodgers, Captain America; Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow; Clint Barton, Hawkeye; and (Y/n) Stark.”

He gestured to each of you as he introduced you. “Everyone, this is Heimdall, Keeper of the Nine Realms.”

Heimdall bowed his head. “I have already alerted the AllFather about your return with your guests. He will be found in the Throne Room.”

Thor walked forward and all of you instinctively followed him. Thor clapped him on the shoulder and smiled, “Thank you, my friend.”

Then went to another exit. “I will introduce you to my mother and father so so are aware of your presence, then we will head off.”

You offered a small smile to Heimdall, and the corner of his lip quirked upward.

You turned back to follow Thor and asked, “So, where are the letters?”

“A woman— Sigyn, has them.”

Your heart almost stopped. Thor checked your face for any reaction, but you kept it hidden, just like Natasha does.

You pulled the fingerless gloves tighter on your hands as you exited the domed room. You looked up and an audible gasp escaped your lips.

The black infinite space stretched out in every direction, galaxies and stars were prominent in the lack of light. Below you was a raging sea, possibly surrounding the planet. Under your foot stood a rainbow bridge.

 _The_ Rainbow Bridge.

At the very end was a large golden gate, and behind that, you couldn’t imagine. You took a step forward and the bridge glowed multicolored with every step. You looked back up and around, you wanted to cry from the beauty.

 _If Loki could see me now..._ You smiled, then turned when Clint touched your arm and guided a horse to you. He helped you saddle up and soon the five of you rode to the large gates, to the entrance to Asgard.

You could hear Clint behind you on his own horse, begging it not to fall off the bridge and into into the sea. You let out a laugh and urged your horse faster to catch up with Thor. You couldn’t keep a grin on your face as you looked at Thor, who threw his head back and let out a laugh.

The gates automatically pulled open and you slowed the pace of your horse and let the prince go first. You almost got whiplash from looking around.

The bridge became a dirt road and it was a large village with people wrapped in cloaks and clothes fastened with silver in the stomach, chest or the shoulder area.

People waved to Thor and gave the rest of you hesitant looks.

You heard a whirring sound and looked up; several small boats with stationary wings whizzed through the dusk air.

You smiled at some children and rubbed the horse’s neck.

You realized for a second that, technically they were extraterrestrials. Thor was an extraterrestrial. But then again, to them you were the extraterrestrial.

“Do not worry, dear people.” Thor said, and you were surprised how his voice held such authority, “They are not here to hurt anyone. They are my friends. They have come to help look for someone very dear to me who has gone missing. Do not worry, you may go back to your daily routine.” He added a smile as the crowd slowly dispersed.

You all resumed heading to the castle. It soared up high into the sky, higher than any of the buildings in New York. It was golden and glinted in the setting sun.

It looked like giant organ pipes standing next to each other, getting taller as it went to the center. Tall intricate buildings and statutes were scattered about in the distant, there were even few giant, curved floating pieces spinning slowly in the air.

Loki and Thor’s descriptions couldn’t even compare to the beauty of the foreign land. The giant castle loomed up as you got closer and closer.

Eventually you stopped outside those gates and dismounted.

You all handed your horses to some guards wearing silver and gold armor. They bowed to Thor, who told them that all of you were friends and part of the mighty Avengers. All of you walked past the gates and into a large lush garden.

“Are you as confused as I am right now?” Steve asked you as he smiled to some people picking flowers.

“Definitely.” You muttered. To your left, dozens of people sparred together. There was one woman amongst them with long black hair and wielding a sword.

As passed them you wondered if that woman was Sigyn.

You looked forward as you came into an outdoor auditorium. Guards stood at the door, facing forward and unmoving. You wondered if they were statutes as you strode by them. The footsteps echoed in the massive castle, a few other people milled about.

“Thor, this place is beautiful. Why would you ever choose to live on Earth?”

“That place is as magical as you see Asgard. It’s a world still unfamiliar to me, and comes with great friends.” He smiled, leading all of you to the Throne Room.

He stopped at gigantic golden doors and spoke to a guard standing next to it. The guard nodded then Thor patted him on the shoulder.

Your heart was beating a mile a minute as you watched the prince push the doors open effortlessly and enter the long room. At the end you saw two vague figures standing near a throne with a circular platform around it.

You slowed down and moved behind Thor, his long red cape brushing against your shins as he moved quickly to close the gap between him and his parents. Upon hearing footsteps they both turned.

The one on the left was a man— the King of Asgard— with a gold eyepatch and silvery hair that reached his shoulders. The one on the left was a woman— the Queen of Asgard— had the front of her hair wrapped elegantly in a bun with the back let loose down her back.

She smiled at her son and took his hand, “Thor, back so soon?”

“I have come back to retrieve something that might be able to find Loki.”

Her smile grew bigger.

“Friends, this is my mother, Queen Frigga. And the AllFather, Odin. Mother, Father, these are my colleagues; Steve Rodgers,”

“Hello, your majesties.” Steve bowed.

“Clint Barton,” Clint bowed as well, “Natasha Romanoff,” Nat nodded once, “And—”

“(Y/n).” Frigga smiled, leaving him and taking both of your hands in hers.

“Loki has told me quite a bit about you.” She said knowingly, with a small mischievous smirk on her face.

You understood now where Loki got that look from.

You smiled at her, she simply radiated kindness and warmth. “Loki spoke of you, too.” You said, squeezing her hands gently.

She was the closest thing you had to a mother and you’ve only met her.

“You truly have a heart to help look for my son.”

“That means a lot coming from his mother. Thank you. We’ll do anything we can to bring him back.” You said.

Clint gave Natasha an uneasy look.

“Frigga, leave the Midgardian alone. They are not capable of finding Loki if we cannot.” Odin said.

You knew that voice from somewhere.

“Excuse me?” You turned to him.

“We are a higher advanced species than you. We have a Gate Keeper who can see every soul in the universe, if Heimdall cannot find him, then there is nothing to look for.” Odin said causally, a large black crow landed on a golden table that was placed behind him.

“Odin, you cannot believe that Loki is dead?” Frigga gasped, moving away from you and to her husband.

“If Heimdall cannot see his soul, his soul is not on this plane of existence.” Odin said.

“Well, that can’t be true.” You chimed in.

“Haven’t your people ever taught you about respect, little girl.” Odin snapped, turning to you.

You knew where that voice was from. “Yes. But just because you’re the narrator in the movie ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’—”

“(Y/n).” Thor said sharply.

You let out a sigh, “Sorry. But you see, I talked to Loki. He— he said that he created a link between our souls, and was able to talk to me through dreams.”

“What did he say to you. Is he able to find out where he was?” Frigga asked urgently. You shook your head.

The silence was deafening.

“A link between your souls.” Odin repeated to himself. He looked uneasily to his wife. She had a sad look on her face.

“What? What’s so wrong about that?” You asked, furrowing your eyebrows.

“It’s nothing, dear.” Frigga said comfortingly, but that didn’t stop you from asking questions in your head.

“Thor, you said you came back to collect something? I suggest now would be the time to do it, before it gets too dark.” Frigga said. Thor nodded then said goodbye and told you, Steve, Natasha and Clint to follow him.

“(Y/n.) Stay here. I would like to have a word with you.” Odin said.

You looked to Thor, he gave you a reassuring nod then continued to the large doors with the others. You turned back around nervously to face the King.

“We would like some privacy.” He said.

Frigga bowed, then left the room through a side door.

When the two of you were completely alone he turned to you.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I’m so, so, so—”

“What do you know?” He snapped. “I know it was you who spied on my private conversation with Zeus.”

“I-I don’t know. I don’t know anything.” You said.

Odin walked over to the table and smoothed his hands over a map, “I can have you beheaded today for such an intrusion.”

The crow hawked as if to add emphasis.

“Odin—” he whirled around to face you, “AllFather,” you corrected yourself, “I swear on my life I don’t know anything.”

“Swear on something that matters.” He commanded.

“I swear on Loki’s life.”

He waved his hand dismissively, “He doesn’t matter.” Odin said.

“Fine. I swear on Thor’s life.” Odin stroked his white beard.

He approached you and put his hand on your forehead. He stood there for a moment before removing his hand and saying, “Good. However you had become aware of our conversation, your memory has been wiped of it. Now, what do you know about the Infinity Stones? We know one of your team members has it.”

“I know very little about it. I know the Tesseract was one of them.”

Odin paced, “Good. That is all you need to know. Now run along with my son try try in vain to find that Jotun.”

You turned on your heel, your anger bubbling inside. You balled your fists, how could Odin not care for Loki, he did raise him.

You quickened your pace to leave the king by himself and slipped through the large doors.

The rest of your group was waiting for you. Thor led all of you back to the stables where you got your horses back.

You mounted the horse then followed Thor.

“What did he want to talk to you about?” Natasha asked, maneuvering her horse next to yours.

“Stuff. Asked about the Infinity Stones.”

“Did you tell him that you think that orb in the Dark Realm is one?” She asked, lowering her voice.

“No.”

The trail led out into a forest.

You urged your horse faster to catch up with Thor, “Thor?”

“Yes, Lady (Y/n)?”

“Why did your parents act like that when I mentioned that Loki linked our souls?”

He let out a sigh, “Do you truly wish to know?” He asked, turning his head to face you.

“I... I think so.”

There was a pause before Thor started, “Loki was a confused soul when he was younger. He had laid with many people in the past, one of them was Sigyn. Linking souls here on Asgard is a very sacred thing, it shows unity and loyalty to the other. It would be the same as asking someone to marry you on Earth, but much more stronger. He had linked souls a few other times, with Sigyn as well. Mother and Father know it’s not good if he links souls with someone.”

You listened to his, eventually growing numb. You heard him mutter a “sorry” then went faster. He led you through the forest, then stopped when all of you came upon a cottage. Half of it was covered in vines and had a small fountain to the side.

You quickly dismounted, your arms were tingling as you led your horse to a trough and tied it to a low branch. You nervously scratched it’s mane as the others followed you and tied their reins to the same branch.

You looked at your distorted reflection on the water and pushed some flyaway hairs. You lowered the zipper of your uniform slightly then patted your sides, feeling for pockets you knew weren’t there and muttered about how you should carry some makeup and lipstick with you.

“(Y/n).” Thor said, putting his hand on your shoulder.

You shook involuntarily then turned to face him, “Ho-How do I look?”

He reached out and zipped up your front; he knew how you hated to expose your skin. “There. You look stunning.”

You nodded slightly, not really believing him. “Let’s get this over with.” You mumbled, rubbing your face as you walked to the front door, leaves crunched under all ten feet. You moved over so Thor could stand in front of the pale blue wooden door.

He rubbed your back as he raised his right fist and knocked on the door.

“I’ll be right there!” A high pitched woman voice said, and you got incredibly nervous.

What would she look like?

What would she be like?

What did Loki like in her?

You hardly heard footsteps when the door pulled open.

 

 


	13. Exes And Oh's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, so, so, so, sorry that it took so long to update a chapter. You know when you have the plot set out, and certain parts of the story you know exactly how it's gonna go down? Well this chapter wasn't one of those.
> 
> Also, this is the chapter were you meet Sigyn! I have never read the Marvel comics where she has been in, so I have no idea if the personality I dipected is anything like hers in the comics. But hey, freeform, right?

 

She had golden hair— of course she did, you thought to yourself— bright blue eyes and soft features.

“Thor!” She gave the prince a hug and a kiss on the cheek and pulled away. You noticed she had nice curves under her golden colored dress.

“It’s been a while, Sigyn.” Thor said politely.

“Who are your friends?” She asked, looking at the rest of you. He introduced the rest of you again, then said that all of you were not from Asgard.

Sigyn nodded and invited you inside.

It was a very simple cottage, the main colors were teal, a soft yellow and white. To your left was a kitchen area, straight ahead was a doorway with a beaded curtain, and to your right was a living room.

“This is a very nice home you have, miss.” Steve said, adjusting his shield in his hand.

“Thank you, Sir Rogers.” Sigyn said. “Please, sit.” She said.

You all made your way to the purple couch.

“Oh, please. Not there.”

“Why not?” Clint asked, looking cautiously at the couch.

“I prefer not anyone sit on that couch expect me or Loki. We had made love on that couch multiple times.” She said dreamily, “I prefer not anyone to taint it. Actually, we made love on every piece of furniture.”

You cried in your head as you slowly looked around the area. Your eyes found their way back to the couch and found yourself staring at it, your imagination running wild.

“Oh! Here we go.” She went over to the kitchen and dragged a few chairs to the opposite side of the couch.

“Are these... Alright?” You asked hesitantly, pointing at the wooden chairs.

She nodded.

You preferred to stand as the others sat down in the chairs.

“Please sit.” She said kindly, her voice ringing.

“No, thanks.” You said simply. You had to keep reminding yourself that Sigyn was the ex, not you.

She sat down on the purple couch and smoothed out her dress, “So, Thor and friends, what made you visit? How’s Loki?”

 _Kinda clingy_ , you thought, crossing your arms.

“This is about Loki. He’s missing.” Thor said.

Sigyn sighed gently and shook her head then looked back up to Thor, “He’s probably not gone too far. Remember how he went missing, but only to be found on Midgard?”

 _She’s clearly not worried_ , you thought.

“What Thor means to say is that Loki was abducted.” Natasha explained.

Sigyn’s eyebrows gently went together as she placed her index finger on her chin.

You rolled your eyes.

“What about Heimdall? Surely he—”

“We already tried him.” You said. You realized that your voice came out too harsh, then made it gentler, “We came to see if you had some letters and envelopes that Loki had given you. We have some science on Earth—”

“Earth?” She asked.

“Midgard. We have some things there that could help find him, but we need more DNA to do so.” You explained.

Sigyn thought for a moment then stood, “I think I have a few.” Then she went into her room.

You covered your mouth with your hand and faced the wall muttering, “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Thor!” Sigyn’s shrill voice called out, “Do you think you can help me?” The prince went across the room and parted bead curtain, entering her bedroom.

“What, with three pieces of paper?” You snarled.

“(Y/n), you don’t have to be so rude.” Steve said gently, getting up.

“No! I—I can’t stop picturing them...” you gestured to the couch. You regained your posture when Thor and Sigyn re-entered, carrying a large black and green case.

You made a choking sound when you saw what was on her head: Loki’s helmet.

You had seen it before when you glimpsed into his room, but he never let you wear it, let alone touch it.

They set down the case on the coffee table with a thud. Sigyn unlatched the top saying, “This is everything Loki ever gave me during our relationship.” She said, a look on her face showed that she was reminiscing. She opened the case and said, “You can rummage through these, take whatever you want, but make sure you return it.”

“Thank you, miss.” Steve said, getting up.

Your eyes were glued to the object on Sigyn’s head. “Where... Where did you get that?” You asked, pointing at her.

“Oh, Loki gave it to me to wear at our wedding.” She said, taking it off and staring at the front. She traced her finger along one of the curved horns.

Every time she said his name you felt like you got a kick in the chest.

“Would you like to hold it?” She asked. You nodded silently and walked up to her. She placed the helmet in your hands. It was slightly heavy and was cold. The light reflected beautifully off of the gold metal and you smiled, imagining how regal he would look like in real life.

“It’s only a replica, of course. But the measurements are completely correct.” Sigyn said, taking it back from you and setting it on the couch.

You finally looked down at the case, it was brimming with gifts; letters, jewelry, and small sculptures. You crouched down then rifled through the letters, taking some out and putting them on your left if they didn’t have an envelope, a lot of them didn’t.

Your eyes skimmed over a few letters, some of them had paperclips to hold them together. You had three envelopes on your right and you picked up several pieces of paper that were held together. Your eyes skimmed over it, but then you started reading the entire thing. It was beautiful.

He was professing his love to her, saying that Sigyn was the most delicate creature that time has ever seen, and that he would worship her entirely. How could someone say all these things, then suddenly up and leave?

“I know. I cried when I read it too.” Sigyn said.

You dropped the long letter and stood, wiping your tears.

“It’s really h-hot in here. I’m gonna go outside for a sec.” Your voice squeaked when you said your excuse. You turned around and left the small cottage, closing the front door behind you and walk a few yards away and leaned against a tree.

You cursed at yourself for being so unprofessional.

“(Y/n)?” A voice called out. It was Clint. He found you quickly then pulled you into a tight hug.

“It’s not fair.” You whimpered into his chest. He rubbed your back as you went on, “It’s not fair. I w-want she she had with L-Loki.”

“You will, you will. Once we find him.” Clint whispered into your hair.

You let out a whimper like a child then said, “How was it only three days ago that my life was fine?” Clint didn’t answer but continued rubbing your back.

You wormed out of his arms hand put your hand to your ear, activating the small bluetooth that was there and said, “I think we’ve got enough envelopes, guys. Let’s head out.”

Natasha was the only one to respond with an ‘ok’. You heard the scraping of a chair against the floor, assuming someone was getting up from their seat.

You walked across the opening in the woods to get to your horse. You untethered it’s reins and stroked it’s nose as you heard creaking of the front door opening, followed by footsteps and your teammates saying goodbye to their hostess. You turned and saw Thor carrying a small bag over his shoulder.

You moved your horse out of the way so the others could get to theirs. You mounted when everyone else did and Thor lead all of you back to the Rainbow Bridge.

By the time you got there the world had been engulfed in a dark blue of night. Your group got off of your horses and entered the Observatory and greeted Heimdall. “To Midgard, I presume.” He said, more of a statement than a question.

“Yes. Thank you.” Thor said. Heimdall put the sword into the tall slot and the five of you were sucked back into space.

  
You landed back on the long curved balcony at Stark Towers, it was dusk.

You quickly regained your bearings then headed inside with the others following you. You ignored Bruce, Pepper, Tony, Darcy and Jane as you strode over to the bar and snatched up some alcohol with a funny name on it, then went to your room. After meeting Sigyn and reading that long letter, you needed to get drunk.

 

  
Back outside your room, Thor set the bag of letters and envelopes on the table, which he opened and handed some to Bruce and Jane.

“What’s wrong with (Y/n)?” Pepper asked, getting up from Tony’s side.

“It’s a long story.” Natasha said.

“Then shorten it.” Tony said. He wasn’t drunk anymore, but was having a hangover.

And, after a few slaps from Pepper she had given him earlier, made him realize what he said was horrible. Yes, she had broken your rules, Pepper had said, but she was still human. Tony had then asked what he had said to his niece, and Pepper gladly told him.

Natasha explained what had happened at Sigyn, formerly Loki’s wife’s house.

“... whatever she read made her really upset.”

Tony cursed and stood, looking in the direction of where your room was. “You three work on those.” Tony said to Darcy, Bruce and Jane.

Darcy gave him a salute as he crossed the room and went down the hall you went. He knocked on your door, but got a grumble in response.

“(Y/n), please open up.”

“Why? So you can hurl more insults at me? That you hate me? Ooh, good one, Tony.” You said sarcastically.

“I admit what I said was wrong. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

There was a minute of silence. “The door’s open.”

Tony turned the knob and pushed it open, then shut it behind himself.

He looked at you laid down on your stomach on your bed, the bottle of alcohol on your nightstand, still unopened.

He sat down next to you and adjusted the dark sunglasses on his face and said, “Nat told me what happened. Well, whatever she knew.”

You stared at the glass bottle, “Oh, did she? And how Sigyn is Loki’s—”

“Yeah.” Tony rested his hand on your back as you nodded against your pillow, holding the tears back.

Tony loved you so much, he couldn’t see you like this. He sighed, “The only reason why I didn’t want you to date Loki is because he’s immortal and you’re not. I didn’t want him to take advantage of you because you’re mortal. To him, the two of you would be just some sort of... Pit stop along his life, because we only have a limited time here.”

You listened to him, and in the end, you knew he was right. Thor had told you that he and Loki were thousands of years old.

“But c’mon, Nightlight,” he said in a peppy voice, patting your back, “we can’t find him if you’re busy moping around.”

You sat up on your knees and looked at your uncle, “Thank you.”

He simply gave you a kiss on the cheek and stood when you did. The two of you made your way back to the main room where Jane and Bruce were clicking about on blue hologram projections over the table, you approached them.

“We’re able to scan a light year from the edge of the galaxy in every direction.” Bruce said, focusing on the screen. You smiled a little.

“If this algorithm works, the scanning should continue automatically, even without Jarvis’s help.” He said, then Jane moved to his side. She adjusted a few things, then explained what it would do. Tony went next to Jane, then said that both of theirs were wrong, and adjusted it once more. Everyone watched the three of them argue, saying that what the other was doing was wrong.

You glanced at your friends, no, your _family_ , that would practically do anything for you. A few were, quite literally, searching the ends of the Earth for someone that had previously hated.

And they had no idea how grateful you were.

After a while the scientists finally nodded in agreement then left the table. Tony suggested that you all go out to eat, and everyone agreed.

You told him that you would stay back because you wanted to get to sleep early, and because you were drained from the emotional roller coaster on Asgard.

You watched them all cram into the elevator, and it dinged closed. You turned to face the table crowded with Jane’s equipment and a hologram of the galaxy. You knew that it would take a long time to search for Loki, but you were prepared for the long wait.

You went back to your room but stopped at the doorway. You looked to your left, where the rest of your teammates’ rooms were. You walked down the hall, passing Tony, Steve and Thor’s, then stopped at a certain one.

Loki’s room.

You knocked on the door, half hoping he was in there. No one answered. You opened the door and looked around.

You had never seen his room before, Loki had never invited you in. The floor was wood paneling and the walls were a deep shade of green.

You looked around the room: to your left was his large closet; a bed was beside it, just like in your room; on the opposite wall were a few shelves with books crammed onto them. You approached it and stood on your tippy toes to read the titles.

A few had titles and words you didn’t even know existed, so you assumed they were from Asgard.

You smiled when you saw Loki had some books that you recommended to him; the _Harry Potter_ series, which made you remember all the feels it gave you; _the Map of Time_ trilogy, which also made you emotional, and a few other books.

You turned around and paced the room before stopping in front of the closet door.

You know you shouldn’t snoop, but you were curious to what he had. You opened the doors.

In the middle was a life sized dummy, where you assumed he put on that complicated armor he always wore. Since his armor was gone, the only thing that decorated the dummy was a green cape. You reached out and touched it; the materiel was thick and silky and it flowed smoothly between your fingers.

Next to it on a hanger was the outfit he wore on the day of Mary and Shane’s wedding. On the other side of the dummy were several green shirts, identical, with black pants underneath and black shoes on the floor. You noticed a large square box on a higher shelf.

You had to get on you tippy toes to reach it and pulled it down.

Balancing it on one arm, you opened it and and walked over to the green bed and sat down on it as you opened the last flap.

Your eyes widened.

It was the helmet. _The_ helmet.

You lifted the golden object out of the box and gazed at it; the one Sigyn had was definitely different. Hers was much lighter, and the golden on it was less bright, and on Loki’s there was much more elaborate design on the sides and back.

You smiled at it for a moment longer before putting it in the box and setting the box on the floor in front of his desk.

On top of the desk was your former trophy that you had given to Loki all those months ago because he had beat you in Foosball. You smiled at it, reminiscing.

You yawned and took out your phone and put the sound on, incase if anyone calls you. You laid back, resting your head on the soft pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

You let out a sigh and closed your eyes, feeling the tiredness sweep over you. Maybe if you thought of Loki, or was even around his things, you’d be able to dream about him again.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the books I mentioned (Harry Potter, and the Map of Time trilogy) are SO GREAT. I recommend the latter to anyone who loves time travel and space. And Harry Potter, which most of you probably already read/know about.
> 
> The next chapter should come out pretty quickly, since I know how that's gonna play out.
> 
> Toodles <3 <3 <3


	14. The Forgotten One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, so, so sorry for the long delay. But there's no excuses except that I've been busy. But anyway, you get to have a dream date with Loki again!! Aaand, he shows you something very personal to him.

 

The first thing you saw was Loki.

Surprise and happiness burst through you, and you wrapped your arms around his neck, toppling him over so that he was under you. You had found him, finally. He embraced you as well, smiling and pressing his cheek against yours.

“Loki. How— how are you home?” You asked, pulling away from him and smiling. You noticed his head was laying on grass. You looked around yourself.

You weren’t in his room.

You were out in a large field with trees dotting the area.

“Where are we?” You asked, getting off of him and sitting up. There was a large house with a wrap around porch in the distance. Near the house was an ice rink barrier and a few benches.

“This isn’t one of my memories.” He said when you stood.

“Memories?”

He stood as well, dusting off his armor, “Yes. Remember? We’re dreaming.” He explained, searching your face for a reaction; the one he found was sadness.

Loki rested his hands on your shoulders and turned you to face the ice rink and the house. “Tell me, tigress, which of your memories is this?”

You stared forward before you said, “I was five years old. Tony had bought a house in... Minnesota? He had quite a lot of money back then— not as much as he has now, but still a lot. This was the first time I’d gone ice skating. I kept falling, and Tony said it was hilarious.”

Loki smiled then took your hand, guiding you to the ice rink. The closer the two of you got, the more you could hear the dream Tony and your younger self talking.

“Don’t— don’t worry,” you could hear his laughter in his voice, “I won’t let you fall. Again.” You heard Dream Tony say.

The two of you finally reached the entrance of the ice skating rink.

Dream Tony was holding your tiny hands as he glided slowly behind you, and your cute, chunky younger self fumbling on the ice. You knew what would happen next.

“I’m gonna let go of you, now.” Dream Tony said.

“NOOOOOOOO!” Five year old you protested, putting a vice grip on your uncles’ fingers.

“C’mon, (Y/n), you have... to learn... sometime.” He said, trying to pull his fingers out of your hands.

Loki chuckled, “You were a very demanding little child.” He observed. You playfully pushed him, then turned your attention back to the memory.

Dream Tony managed to tear himself away from you, and you cringed remembering. As Dream Tony yanked himself free, he fell over with his momentum and instantly swooped you up in his arms so you wouldn’t get hurt. He fell on the ice, flat on his back with you on his chest.

“You ok?” He asked the five year old. The younger you nodded then started climbing off of him, then slipped and kneed him hard right in his special spot. You muttered a sorry then sat down next to his side and started digging your skates into the ice as Dream Tony rolled onto his side and let out a high pitched groan. “Let’s... Let’s take five.” He said in a strangled voice.

The younger you nodded as you heard Loki suppress a laugh by biting into his knuckles.

“Come on, Loki, it’s not that funny.” You said, not able to keep a straight face, “I bet you had some groin injuries when you were a kid.”

“No, I did not. It was mostly Thor when he was off busy playing with other princes.” He said, stepping onto the ice.

That’s when you noticed the two you weren’t shoes anymore, but ice skates. You hadn’t skated in years, and you were afraid that history would repeat itself.

You looked at your younger self who was now picking up the ice shavings and dumping it on Dream Tony, who was starting to get up and getting the younger you to leave with him.

You looked back to Loki as he held his hand out to you as he stood firmly in the ice. You looked at his hand, unsure. You didn’t want to make a fool of yourself in front of him.

“Don’t worry, they won’t hear or see us.” He said, moving closer to you.

“I don’t really want to...”

“Oh come now, why not?”

With no excuse, you felt defeated and took his hand and stepped onto the slick ice. You grabbed onto his arms as you tried to stay standing. He put his hands on your waist and started to slowly skate backwards, pulling you with him. “Do you remember much about skating?” He asked, watching your feet move hesitantly across the ice.

“Only a little.” You muttered, keeping your eyes on the ice below you. You let the silence pass between you two until you spoke up again.

“I met Sigyn.” He stopped skating and you bumped into him. He held you at arms length.

“I read some of the letters you wrote to her. They were very beautiful.”

He didn’t meet your gaze. “I was going to tell you.”

“When?”

“When I knew about your feelings for me.” He said with an accusatory tone, suddenly looking up at you.

He looked back down and skated backwards, pulling you.

“Why did you leave her? Why did you leave all those people you did?”

He stopped again and hesitated for a long time before answering, “Because I was finished playing with them.”

You could hear how ashamed he sounded, and you felt bad for bringing up the subject. You cleared your throat, “Can you teach me a few tricks? I feel very confident now.” You said, slowly letting go of the god and balancing on your own.

Loki forced a chuckle, “I think you might need a few lessons before I can teach you any tricks.”

“Fine.” You leaned against the barrier, “Then can you show me a few tricks that you know?”

   “Well I don’t really know any tricks...” He said, then started skating backwards, gaining speed. He slowly lifted one foot off the ice and continued to look behind himself. Then he twisted his whole body as one and was now skating forward, still with only one skate on the ice.

He put down his other foot and made a quick turn back towards you by crossing his right foot over his left foot and pushing off. He flew by you and you gasped as he jumped into the air, turning three times before landing perfectly and gliding backwards. He turned forward again and turned a sharp left and started spinning.

As he slowly brought in his arms he gained speed, spinning faster and faster, then, just as sudden as he started to move, he stopped. Arms outstretched, and a nervous smile on his face.

You clapped and said, “That was amazing!”

His smile grew larger, and, was that blush you saw on his face?

“ ‘I don’t really know any tricks’ my ass, that was fantastic! How long have you been practicing that?”

He skated to you and held your hands, “I haven’t practiced that before. In fact, this is my first time skating ever.”

“You’re lying to me, you’ve ice skated before. How else are you so good?” You said.

Loki shook his head, “No. Remember, I’m a Jötun— a Frost Giant. It must be encoded in me to be graceful on the ice.” He explained, turning his hands in yours.

You looked at his hands, then to his face, “Whenever you mention Frost Giants you look at you hands, why?”

Loki sighed, “When I first went to Jötunheim with Thor and our friends, he had started a battle. One of our friends, Volstagg, had been fighting a Frost Giant. The Jötun had gotten the upper hand and grabbed him arm, which destroyed all of his armor there and gave his arm a horrendous frostbite. That’s what happened to anyone who wasn’t a Frost Giant. Another had tried to do the same to me, but only it was quite different. My armor had broken off, but instead of my skin turning black, it turned blue. The true color of a Frost Giant.”

You had no idea what it felt like to find out you were the thing you hated most, so you only nodded.

You looked at his hands that you were rubbing with your thumbs, wondering what secrets they held.

“Do you think you can show me?”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.” You said. He let out a deep breath and slowly, his fingertips began to turn blue. You gasped. It spread up to his wrists and disappeared under his armor. His hands were cold, but not a harsh cold as you imagined Frost Giants to be. His hands were cold, the cold like dipping your hand into cold water. Not harsh, yet, somewhat, still warm. There were thin patterns on the back of his hands that swirled up his arm.

“Are you afraid?” He asked quietly.

“No. They’re beautiful.” You said, then lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles, and did the same with the other.

You turned his palms upward as you said, “And remind me of what my favorite color is, again?”

He smiled a little, “Blue.”

“Exactly. Even if blue wasn’t favorite color, I’d still love it.” You said, kissing the center of his palm.

He moved his hand to your cheek and tilted your head up and pressed a soft kiss to your lips. You wrapped an arm around his neck and the other around his back, pulling yourself close to him and steadying yourself. He pressed you against the barrier and pulled back, smiling down on you.

He brushed a strand of hair out of your face, “You are a very special person to me, (Y/n). More special than anyone I’ve ever been with. I don’t know why, but every time I’m near you I just...” His voice trailed off, unable to find the words he was looking for, but the expression on his face said it all for him. “I’ve never felt this way before with anyone.” He murmured as you placed kisses along his jawline and down his neck.

You looked back up to him and slipped, but preventing this from becoming a casualty, Loki had caught you by your arm and waist.

You let out a little laugh. “Maybe we should get off the ice to continue?”

He nodded with a smile and guided you back to where the two of you entered, and as soon as your feet left the rink, the ice skates disappeared and your normal shoes returned.

He grabbed your arm and spun you around to face him and kissed you again, but you could tell this kiss was more heated, it had this spark.

Just then you heard Tony’s voice and you looked around, breaking your kiss with Loki, but Dream Tony was nowhere to be found.

You heard Tony’s voice again then turned to face Loki.

“I don’t want to—”

“Nightlight, what the hell are you doing in Loki’s room?”

You opened your eyes and let out a frustrated groan.

“I met up with Loki again.” You growled, turning on your side.

“What’d he say? Does he know where he is?”

“He didn’t really talk about finding him, we just spent some time together. And no, he probably doesn’t know where he is.” You said, rubbing your eyes and sitting up.

“I know, I know, I probably should have asked, but I’m still trying to get used to this whole soul-bond or whatever.”

Tony nodded. “Ah. So I’ll leave you to dreaming about Sugar Plum fairies and lollipops.” He said, starting to leave the room.

Then he snapped his fingers and turned around to face you, “Right. I’m supposed to tell you that you’re gonna lead a mission with Barton and Rogers.”

“When?”

“In five minutes.” You cursed and bolted up, running into the hall and heading to your room to get some gear.

“And for gosh sake, watch your language!” He shouted behind you.

Just then Steve walked by and let out a heavy sigh.

 

* * *

 

 

The three of you were strapped in next to each other in the quinjet. Several dozen other agents you’ve never met before occupied the other seats.

What you had read from the file Steve gave you, there was some rando-guy in Siberia who had held an entire town hostage underground by, apparently, just asking them.

His name was James Clayton.

He had been on a few police reports before: stealing cars; robbing an expensive jewelry store, things like that.

But this was the biggest thing he’s ever done.

 _Think he’s with Hydra?_ You signed to Barton.

He was largely deaf, but Tony had made him some hearing aids, so when he wore them, everything was crystal.

Even though he could hear you if you had spoken to him, you didn’t want the other agents to listen in. When you found out about him being deaf, you had asked him to teach you sign language (you had always gotten frustrated when you were a kid), and now, you were almost fluent.

He shrugged, _Probably_. He signed back, _who could ask an entire population to go underground, unless you had some super weapon or some ability?_

You nodded, then caught Steve looking at you and Clint with a quizzical look on his face.

“I’ll tell you later.” You said quietly.

Steve nodded then took a deep breath and the three of you unclipped yourselves and stood.

Steve began to give the others a quick summary of what they were doing (even though they already knew why they were there), and how they would execute the rescue mission.

You felt the slight tilt of the quinjet as it headed downward. Clint slung his bow and quiver over his shoulders and got to the back of the jet with you and Steve.

The mission went out smoothly.

The townspeople were rescued, James Clayton of was incarcerated, a few agents had lost their lives.

 

* * *

 

 

Your life continued like that: missions, free time, and searching for Loki, which now at three months, you had found nothing.

As time passed, you had begun to see less and Loki in your dreams, he had explained to you that he was loosing energy, and it would only be a matter of time before you wouldn’t meet with him at all.

You had even tried a Freddy Krueger method; either holding onto Loki just as you woke up, hopefully bringing him with you to Stark Towers (didn’t work), or going to sleep holding a tracking device, then giving Loki and when you would wake up, you could trace him (that didn’t work either, since you kept waking up with the device in your hands).

Another thing that also troubled you was Loki.

After that mission a few months ago, you had noticed him start to become gradually more dominant and hostile. He never raised a hand to you, no, but on more than one occasion he got into a verbal fight with you for no reason.

You didn’t dare tell your uncle about it because he would quit the mission in finding Loki, and then the rest of the Avengers would as well.

And when Loki wasn’t getting in fights with you, he had his body pressed flush against yours and was kissing you so strongly and passionately until you almost passed out from lack of air.

In your latest dream, you noticed a drastic turn in his personality that made you worry about what exactly were the Chitauri doing to him.

The surroundings where the same as they were for a couple of weeks; Loki’s cell. Instead of him usually sitting in the corner with his arms wrapped around his legs, he was standing up with his back facing you as he felt his hands along the walls.

You stayed there for a moment, watching him for any signs of hostility, and when you found none you decided to hesitantly call out to him. When he heard his name, he turned around, confused. He studied you for a moment before leaving the wall with a wistful smile on his face.

“It’s you.” He breathed, approaching you.

“The maiden from my dreams.” He looked at you fondly, cupping the side of your face. Your eyebrows knit together slightly, why was he acting like he didn’t know you?

“I’ve waited and prayed to the Norns for our next meeting to be soon, and it seems like my prayers have been answered.” He said with infinite tenderness, placing his other hand on the other side of your face.

His eyes roamed your face, drinking in every detail, as if seeing it for the first time. “Tell me, maiden, what is your name?”

“You know what my name is.” You told him, worry setting in your stomach.

“If I knew, I can assure you I wouldn’t forget it.”

“Loki, stop joking around.”

“I may be known as the God of Mischief, but I do not joke when it comes to the name of a beautiful maiden who appears in my sleep.”

You took a deep breath, “Loki, what’s the last thing you remember?”

“Only a day ago, Thor, Sif, the Warriors Three and I were planning to take a trip to Jötunheim because a few Frost Giants were found in the Treasure Room. When I had gone to my chambers to change into my armor, I woke up here.” He said, looking around the room.

“No.” You muttered, stepping away from him. You knew that story, that was a year before Loki had tried to take over Earth. You turned back to him, “Loki, say my name.” You said urgently.

“I do not know—”

“Yes you do! You know my name! We know everything about each other!” You shouted.

He looked at you, “I must say, maiden, that isn’t very lady like.” He said, clasping his hands behind his back.

You spun back around to face him and grabbed him by the arms and shook him, “You know me! We spent nights talking to each other until I fell asleep and you put me back in my room so Tony wouldn’t get suspicious! You saved me from a missile! You beat me in Foosball!”

“Release me.” He growled, yanking your hands off of him, then dusted his arms. “How dare you grab onto the Prince of Asgard like that?” He asked, anger etched onto his face.

Tears of frustration sprang to your eyes as you balled your fists.

“I’m so sorry, Loki.” You said in a shaky voice. “I’m sorry I let them do this to you.” You whimpered, wiping the tears from your face. He looked at you confused and concerned.

This wasn’t the Loki you knew, yes, the body was his, but it wasn’t _him_.

You pressed the heel of your palms to your eyes and let out a scream of frustration, “I’m gonna kill every last one of them!” You swung your arms back down, blobs of Darkness swirling around your hands.

You noticed that Loki started to edge away from you, and you sighed and waved your arms in front of yourself, making the substance disappear. You looked down and massaged your forehead, letting out a choked sob. “Fine, fine, we’ll get around this. We can. I have to.” You wiped away the rest of your tears and walked up to Loki, taking your hands in yours. “God, I wish we could have found you sooner.” You whimpered, raising his hands and pressing the backs of them to your forehead. You got that familiar tingling in your stomach and pins and needles on your head, the signs that you were starting to wake up.

“We’ll find you.” You said, then opened your eyes and found that there were tears in them as well.

You up sat on Loki’s bed, your eyes lazily roaming the room.

You asked Jarvis to call Thor. A short minute later the blonde man came into the room. You looked up at him, then back down at the bed.

“(Y/n), what’s wrong?” He asked, coming over and joining you on the green bed.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered, knowing if you talked any louder the tears would start coming again.

“Is he dead?” You shook your head.

“It’s almost as bad. Thor... they’re wiping his memories.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Thanks for everyone who's hung along through the tears, mischief, bonding, and, most of all, the delays. All of your kudos and comments are appreciated! Now, this chapter is down, and now I know where I'm heading with this and this'll start gaining speed.


	15. Uncles' Help

 

What do you mean? How much?” He asked, his grip tightening on Mjölnir.

“Almost three years worth.” You said, “The last thing he said he remembered was when you, Sif and the Warriors Three were going to Jötunheim.”

Thor stood and you felt the air tingle with electricity. “This is impossible.” He growled.

You sniffled, “What?”

Thor turned to you, “My mother had sent out soldiers few thousand years ago to remove any memory wiping potion in the Nine Realms because she believed that everyone had a right to their own mind and memories. I believe that as well. After maybe a hundred years every potion had been destroyed, along with every apothecary that sold it. There had been a legend that the person who supplied the apothecaries with the potion was a goddess named Mnemosyne. But she was only a legend.”

“And now you think that she’s back and working with— or for — the Other?” You asked.

“Yes. Where she dwells I do not know, but the legend was that if you drank from her spring you would be able to consult with her, and if the person persuaded her, she could make a memory wiping potion.”

You nodded, “So then maybe if she can make those potions, maybe she can make one that makes people remember.”

“Perhaps.” Thor said as you got to your feet.

“Then how do we find her?”

The two of you faltered. Back at square one.

You thought of something, and the only reason why you decided to say it was because you knew Thor wouldn’t make fun of you.

“Well, _maybe_ I know how to summon a god?”

“You do?”

“Well, I saw on an episode of _Supernatural_...” Then you proceeded to tell him about that episode, ‘Remember the Titans’.

You walked and talked as you went to your room, taking out your laptop then searching the Internet on how to summon a God. Once you found a spell, you decided to try it. You told Thor not to tell the others what the two of you were doing, because they might get upset. You made a sigil in chalk on the floor, lit a few candles, said something, then threw a lit match into a bowl of herbs.

Nothing happened.

You sighed then got on your knees and blew out the candles, muttering, “Sam and Dean owe me fifteen minutes of my life back.”

You sat back and gritted your teeth. You swung out your arm and knocked down the candles.

You quickly stood and knocked over the bowl of herbs and left your room, leaving behind Thor and the mess. You walked through the common area, ignoring everyone as you called for the elevator and the doors opened. You took it to the roof. You weren’t going to jump, no, that would help no one.

The doors dinged open and you walked across the pebble-laden roof, walking to the edge and sitting down.

You always felt peaceful up there, the wind blowing through your hair, sitting at the edge, the street hundreds of feet below you, the adrenaline zinging through your veins, all of this some how made you calm.

You made an illusion of Loki appear next to you, his legs dangling off the edge of the building, him staring intently out at the horizon, as he had done so many times with you. You smiled to yourself, remembering a particularly funny moment with the real Loki a few days you had gotten out of the hospital.

 

 

  
_You and Loki sat on the couch in the common area next to each other. Loki was halfway through the book The Map of Time._

_You yourself were starting on The Map of Chaos, which you were very hesitant to start reading since it was the last book in the Map of Time trilogy. Every now and then you would peek over to see what part Loki was reading, then go back to your book._

_Once you looked back at your book, you caught him trying to sneak a peek. You quickly turned the book away saying,_ _“Hey! No peeking.”_

_“Oh come now.” He said, closing his book and putting it on the side._

_He crawled on top of you and you protested, giggling. “Careful, stitches, stitches!” You reminded him as he gently nuzzled his face into your neck._

_“Why do you deny me to see The Map of Chaos?”_

_“Because spoilers.” You said, putting your book to the side as well. You started backing up against the arm of the chair, Loki had effectively trapped you._

_What made it worse was that you had found yourself in a position would would make Tony scream if he had found the two of you: your left leg was dangling off the couch while the other was placed flush against the back of the couch, and Loki was sitting right in between them with his toro pressed against yours._

_You swallowed, unsure what the next move should be._

_You saw him lean toward you to give you a kiss on the lips and you panicked, then quickly covered his mouth._

_He opened his eyes and stared at you as you smiled nervously._

_Then you felt it._

_You screeched and withdrew your hand to find a smile on his face. You wiped your hand on the couch as he chuckled. “Goddammit Loki! You licked me! What the hell?” You said looking at him incredulously._

_“I saw you do it to Barton the other day.” He shrugged._

_“But that’s different!”_

_“How so?” He asked, sitting back._

_Finally, you pulled your legs in and stood, “Because you’re a prince! Royalty are supposed to act a certain way! You’re insufferable!” You walked over to go to the balcony, and you ran into the glass with a loud thud and fell backwards._

_Loki got up and calmly walked over to you, standing above you. Your face broke out into a grin and you covered your features with your hands._

_Loki_ _got infected by your laugh, “Are you alright?” He asked, his shoulders shaking from laughter._

_You nodded and he sat down and joined you on the floor, the two of you laughing together._

 

 

  
You were brought back from your memory when you heard footsteps behind you. You and the illusion of Loki both turned to see who it was; your uncle.

Loki vanished as he came to sit down next to you, he let out a sigh and you looked out at the city.

“Thor told me what the two of you tried to do.” He began.

You gave a rugged sigh.

“Nightlight, you’re going into means that shouldn’t be tried with.”

You looked down.

“You’re getting desperate. Losing sight of really trying to find him and scrambling to other methods deep down you know wouldn’t work.”

“Wouldn’t you get this desperate if it were me?” You asked.

“Of course.” He said without missing a beat.

“Well then what’s the difference?” You asked.

He didn’t answer. “Do you love him?” He asked, turning to you.

“Everybody’s asking me that question lately.” You chuckled, blushing.

“Do you?”

You didn’t answer right away, fearing what Tony’s response would be.

“Yes.” You whispered. You waited for another lecture of his, but it never came. Instead, your uncle cleared his throat and nodded. The two of you didn’t say anything else.

You just sat there watching helicopters and planes fly by as the sun started to move down to touch the horizon.

His silence was unbearable. “You still love me no matter my choices, right Tony?” You asked, biting back tears as you looked up at the darkening sky.

“Of course, (Y/n).”

“Because I always feel like you’re always silently judging me. If you remove the fact that he tried to take over the world, he’s nice. He’s polite to me, never tried to hurt me, never tried to go fast with me, we respect each other, isn’t that what’s needed in a happy relationship?”

“I never judge you. And his personality, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that the two of you are a thing. I still see you as my baby girl.” He said, stroking the back of your head.

You nodded, “I met up with him last night, I feel like it’s the last time we’ll meet.” You whimpered. You told him about what took place, how you were in his cell, how he didn’t remember trying to take over the world, how he didn’t remember you.

After hearing all that you said, he scrubbed his hand over his face then pressed a firm kiss to your forehead then hopped up to his feet.

“C’mon. Let’s head inside. Heard it was gonna rain tonight.”

You nodded and got up as well. The two of you walked side by side and Tony took your hand. You rested your head on his shoulder as he pressed the button to call the elevator.

“Wanna play Mega Jenga?” He asked. “

What’s that?” You lifted your head as the two of you entered the elevator.

“A game I just made up. You get two or more Jenga sets and you stack them on top of each other then play normally. But whoever looses has to sleep on the roof.” You nodded, entering the living area.

Jane was sitting on Thor’s lap; Darcy was sitting next to Steve watching the news. Clint, Natasha, and Bruce were eating some Chinese food leftovers. You sent a quick glare at the back of Jane’s head before walking over to Clint and gently pushed him, “What, didn’t save any for me?” You asked with a smirk, taking his food.

He pouted and tried to reach for it, “Hey!” He reached for it again, but you held it away and started eating spoonfuls.

“Sorry, Birdboy, but I’m a growing gal and need food. Deal.” You said with a chuckle.

“I’m gonna get you for that.” He said, crossing his arms with an evil smirk.

You shrugged and sat down next to Bruce. You gave him and Nat a nod of acknowledgment, then focused on your food.

You were very good at hiding your emotions, and no one could tell if you were.

All except Tony.

He watched you from afar, silent and knowing exactly what you were really feeling. He strode over to the bar and poured himself some whiskey and took a sip, his eyes scanning over his teammates before landing on the contraption that was supposed to help find Loki.

Loki.

Even the name made him want to grind his teeth. It was his fault that Tony had PTSD and kept waking up in the middle of the night, a scream ready on his lips and his body drenched in sweat.

Of course, no one else knew except Pepper and Bruce. Tony gulped down the rest of the alcohol then put the glass on the table. But Nightlight loved him, somehow. Tony was still skeptical about her feelings, but either way, he loved her and trusted her. And in the end, Tony knew you would always love him, and your uncle would always love you.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! Sorry that this chapter was shorter than the rest. But the next chapter will be REALLY short. Under 1,500 words short. Just get prepared for an ACTUAL INTENDED cliffhanger. And thank you to everyone who has followed this story, kudo-ed, and commented <3 <3 <3
> 
> P.S., I really recommend the Map of Time series by Félix J. Palma. It absolutely rocked my world.


	16. Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is REALLY short, and is an INTENTIONAL cliffhanger. I'll post the next chapter in a few weeks, and I hope you love this story as much as I do!

 

And you were right. That was the last time you had seen of Loki in your dreams. Months had passed: the leaves changed colors; snow fell; the Ball dropped in Times Square; and there was still no sign of Loki.

  
It was now spring. A total of eight months you had been searching for Loki.

  
You were sitting on the floor in the living area, Clint sat behind you on the couch braiding your hair while you flipped through a magazine.

Tony had gotten everyone into watching BBC America’s _Sherlock_ series, and everyone was captivated by the characters on screen. You had seen that episode more than three times so you knew what would happen.

  
Suddenly there was that all too familiar sound of a sonic boom and the bright swirling colors landed on the balcony. Thor stood and summoned his Mjölnir as everyone got up in curiosity and defense.

Your heart hammered in your chest.

When the beam of light retracted, four people —three men and a woman— stood there. When you saw the smile on Thor’s face you knew they must be friends. But as they came inside you saw how grave their faces were.

“Thor.” Was all the woman said, and you knew it wasn’t good. Thor introduced everyone to the Asgardians: the one with the red hair and bushy beard was Volstagg; the woman was Sif; the man with his hair tied back into a slick ponytail was Hogun; and the man with the goatee was Fandral.

“We found Loki.” Volstagg said, and your heart soared. A grin appeared on your face, but Sif cut you off, “He’s trying to take over Asgard.”

And there was a deafening silence. Everyone looked at each other, but you simply stared at Sif, not able to compute.

“Well.” Clint simply said.

 “We know what we have to do.” Steve said, looking at everyone,

 

 

“Avengers. As—”


	17. Please pt 1/3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww yesss, look who's back in action, you are! Chapter 17 at your service, and you shall soon meet with Loki again, but it didn't happen as you thought it would.

 

“Well, I’ll be damned. A shrine to nipples.” Tony said, looking around the Observatory.

Everyone except the Asgardians sent a death glare to your uncle, including you.

Sif, the Warriors Three, and Thor lead the group out onto the Rainbow Bridge. Upon seeing Asgard in the distance and looking at the Bridge, Tony and Bruce were talking a mile a minute about space and science.

They were practically drooling.

You heard a faint crash and an explosion coming from the city and everyone went silent.

“Thor and I will do a recon. We’ll use the comms. We might not meet up again until after we get him, so stay in groups.” Tony said, you nodded and you gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then he did the same to you.

 

His helmet shut and sealing his face behind it. He had already given you the speech about not letting your feelings get in the way if you were to be confronted by Loki, and you promised you wouldn’t.

You took a few steps back (careful not to fall off the Bridge), then your uncle took off into the sky, soon followed by Thor. Steve turned to you, “Ready, (Y/n)?” You nodded then created a portal as wide as the Bridge. With everyone’s weapons at the ready, you leapt in.

 

Appearing on top of a large archway in front of a group of people who were about to be executed by the Chitauri, everyone immediately engaged in battle.

“Duck!” You shouted. As everyone did you raised your arms and pushed, sending a wave of Darkness away from yourself and throwing the Chitauri back, fatally wounding them.

When everyone stood you lowered your arms. Steve went to check on the Asgardians as you spoke, “We’ll split up. We have to assume that Loki—” your voice caught, “that Loki is in the palace and sending the Chitauri out from there. If you find him, only confront him with another member. If he’s anything like he was when he tried to take over Earth, he’s hostile.”

You looked to Steve as he came back and gave you a nod to continue, “If you can, save and help whoever’s in danger.”

There was an explosion a few yards away and another fleet of Chitauri flying through the air passed by.

“Remember: stay in groups!” You said as everyone ran in each direction.

Bruce already had changed into the Other Guy, a.k.a. the Hulk, and was leaping into the air and taking down the flying enemy chariots.

You nudged Clint, the subtle signal of him to go with you. He nodded, gave a last look to make sure Nat was with Steve, then went with you.

The two of you ran through the rubble, ducking and shooting out respective projectiles, sending the Chitauri flying through the air or falling from the sky. Another chariot whizzed through the air and Clint knocked another arrow into the air as you deflected a blast from a staff by making a shield, while simultaneously slicing through the Chitauri on the ground with a sharp piece of Darkness.

You removed the shield and Clint looked at you, “We gotta stop them from coming out. Fighting them here isn’t gonna be worth a crap if we don’t bottle-neck that up.” He said. He then put his hand on your shoulder and looked you deeply in the eye, “We might have to go into the palace. If Loki’s there, I can count on you to fight _against_ him?”

You nodded, swallowing.

“I can call on someone else if you can’t handle it. Steve or Nat might be close—”

“No, I’ll be fine. I promise.”

He sighed then gave you a kiss on the forehead, “C’mon, let’s go.” Then the two of you sprinted towards the castle. The closer the two of you got, the more Chitauri there were.

“Running low.” Clint said, shooting another arrow into an enemy alien. You pulled out a new supply of arrows from the Dark Realm and dropped them into Clint’s quiver as you made a Dark sword and chopped off a head off of a Chitauri.

You controlled multiple portions of Darkness, swinging around and waving your hands, shooting them into aliens. You whirled around and thrusted your hands forward, felling several more.

You ducked under a blue blast and was caught off guard, letting a Chitauri knock you to the ground and aim the tip of the staff to your face. But instead of firing, another of it’s kind approached and stopped it. You stared at them, bewildered, before an arrow sank into both of their heads.

You scrambled to stand then shouted to Clint, “Get down!” He threw himself to the floor and you twirled your hands in the air, creating several, endless, black holes around you, sucking in Loki’s army and crushing them. The air and even light was being sucked into the holes that were growing larger by the second until you raised your hands to the sky, closing them with a bang. You lowered your arms slowly, wobbling on your legs as you stared at your arms that had a purple aura around them.

“(Y/n)?” Clint asked. You looked to the castle then raised your open palms to it and shot out a blast of purple neon light, causing the side of the castle to explode and crumble. When all of your energy was spent and the matter coming from your hands stopped, you stood there, your mind blank.

Clint had gotten up and was standing close to you, luckily for you because you passed out. He caught you and looked around quickly before picking you up and carrying you to a burned small house.

He knelt to the ground and placed you in front of him and pulled off his bow and arrow. He looked at you for a moment, and just as he was going to go on the comms, you made a choking sound and opened your eyes.

He helped you sit up, resting his hand on your lower back as you began to cough. You raised your hand to cover your mouth as Clint patted your back. When you pulled your hand away, you saw that it was covered in blood.

Clint cursed bad shifted on his feet, “You need to get outta here.” He said, looking out of the charred window.

You shook your head, “No, I—” you cleared your throat, “I’m fine. If I use too much of my powers, I get sick.”

“And do your eyes turn dark purple?” He asked.

Now that he mentioned it, your vision was slightly purple. “Never noticed before. I guess it’s a side effect of using my powers too much.” You panted, letting him help you stand.

Clint nodded skeptically, “I think you should go back home.”

“No.” You said firmly, “I can do this. I have as much skill as Nat, I can help.”

“Fine.” Clint grumbled, getting his bow again. You held your gun firmly in both of your hands.

That battle had left you drained, resulting in that couldn’t use your powers for a little while. You walked along, your ribs and back bruised and aching. The two of you stealthily climbed over the large pile of gold rubble that was once part of the castle wall, and went into the wide hall.

Clint notified the others that the two of you were going into the castle, having a brief argument with Tony before the two of you quickly checked your surroundings, then proceeded to head in the direction of what you thought was the Throne Room.

Clint, you noticed, was bleeding from his right leg and forehead.

“How you holding up?” You asked in a quiet voice, scanning down the halls. It was suspiciously empty.

“Been better.” He said, looking around with his drawn bow and arrow. You pulled him against a wall and stayed silent.

You heard the familiar screeching and clicking of the Chitauri. And by the sound of them there were at least a dozen.

“How many you think?” He whispered.

You cautiously peered around the gold wall, assessed, then saw an archway that you remembered.

You turned and faced Clint, grimacing, “More than sixteen.”

He nodded then pulled out an arrow, but you stopped him by putting your hand on his arm, “Don’t waste them. There’s an archway that I remember when we passed by on our way to the Throne Room.”

You unclipped a hand grenade from your belt, “As soon as this goes off you follow me, then we can go check the Throne Room.”

He nodded, holding his bow ready in case anything went wrong.

You pulled out the pin and went out to the center of the hall, then chucked the grenade right into the center of the platoon. You ducked behind the wall again as it exploded, shaking the walls and making silt rain down from the hundred foot ceilings.

When the walls stopped quaking, you and Clint looked around the corner to see there was a deep crater where the Chitauri had been. The two of you ran across the hall and jumped over the pit, then heard those tell-tale screeches.

The two of you looked around for a hiding spot as the running footsteps came closer and closer.

You felt Clint pull you into the crater and press yourselves against a large crevice.

The footsteps came closer and closer until the were right above the two of you, a few pebbles falling from the edge and into you. You silently passed a gun to your partner as the Chitauri entered the pit, then slowly making their way across.

Your eyes flicked to Clint’s as he cocked the gun, worried that the Chitauri would hear.

“Nat, Steve, we need back up.” You whispered, keeping your gun ready. “How far are you from the palace?” You asked urgently.

“I don’t know. Pretty far. We’re by a beach.” Steve grunted.

You cursed.

 

Clint turned to you, signing, _I’ll hold them off. You get to the Throne Room. I’ll meet you there._

You shook your head and responded in the same language, _No. I’ll stay and fight with you._  

Clint signed your name, _(Y/n), there’s too many. I can’t keep an eye on you and fight them off. Wait for me in the Throne Room._  

You understood he couldn’t watch you, you’d be a burden.

You swore out loud, “I hate you so much.” You said, giving him another gun and clipping two grenades to his belt.

“And that’s why you love me.” He smirked. You rolled your eyes then steadied your breathing.

You counted to three then jumped up at the same time Clint did and jumped out of the crater and shot at a few Chitauri before scrambling down the hall and turned left.

The walls shook again as another grenade went off as you went under the arch and spotted one of the large doors just barely hanging off it’s hinges, and there was a large hole where the other door should have been.

You gripped your gun as you turned yourself invisible and slowly entered the large room.

 

Clint finally sank his final arrow into the last of the Chitauri group, then took a deep breath, looking at how many he had fell.

He turned around and sprinted down the hall where you had gone down. He stopped when there was a hall to his left and his right. He then turned right.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I'd just like to say thank you to each and every one of you who's left a kudos, a comment, or even posted a link to this fic on a website (if you have, let me know!) And thanks for following this story, I'm glad you like— or dare I say, love?— it. 
> 
>  
> 
> P.S I'd also like to say I saw Tom in the flesh!!! And he answered my question and looked me in the eyes! He looked into my soul.


	18. I Don't Want To Hurt You pt 2/3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Another chapter up! Also, this is a very violent chapter (to me that is) a lot of mentions of blood and innuendos of sex. If you have triggers to either of these, you don't have to read this chapter if you don't want to. Also, in this fic, there won't be any Age of Ultron in the coming chapters, so no Wanda or Peitro (sorry). But if you look in the character tags, you can see a beloved character will be making an appearance in a couple of chapters! Yep! The one and only James Buchannan Barnes! :D

 

You crept quietly along the walls of the Throne Room, keeping yourself invisible. You could see Loki— complete in his Asgardian armor and horned helmet— with his back facing you as he looked down at the golden table by the throne.

As you took note of the two guards standing on either side of the throne, you noticed that your vision was no longer tinted.

You wish you hadn’t split up from Clint, and now you were alone, unable to communicate with the others to tell them you had found Loki. You were closing in on him, but at twenty feet away, he chuckled.

“There’s only a few who could sneak up on me.” He said, turning around to face you.

You made yourself visible. “Loki, what are you doing?” You asked.

“Come. I would like to show you something.” He said, nodding to the table. Hesitantly, you stepped forward to have a look at the table.

When you reached it, you saw there was a large map with a beautifully drawn tree in the center. In the branches, there were nine different colored galaxies. “I will soon rule all of this.” He said, looking hungrily at the map.

A faint explosion outside the castle made its way to your ears. “Stop what you’re doing, Loki. Please.” You begged, looking at him.

He suddenly looked up at you and you saw his blue eyes were very dilated. Wait, his eyes weren’t blue.

“You could be my queen. You’re perfect.” He suddenly closed the gap between the two of you so that we was practically standing on top of you.

You took a step back, shaking your head. He waved his free hand and a shimmering green and gold light appeared around you for a moment, then disappeared.

“Mmm. You look absolutely ravishing.” He conjured up a mirror and you looked at your reflection, wide-eyed. You were wearing a outfit that would have been a female version of Loki’s: the top part was an emerald green and had a scale-y design to it, and had a _very_ low v-neck, which you used your arms to try to cover; there was a golden sash tied elegantly around your waist, holding up a thin raggedy skirt; you had very tight green leggings and calf-high boots. And on your shoulders was an immensely heavy cape with fur around the top.

Loki stepped behind you, entering your sight on the mirror. “Look at us. Absolutely perfect.” He whispered in your ear, which gave you chills.

“Enough with the illusions, Loki.” You said, turning to face him. He bowed his head, and the images of fantastical clothing vanished off of you, and your uniform returned.

You saw that your gun was placed on the table, two feet away. You walked to it and grabbed the weapon, but when you did, it disappeared in green light.

“You could rule alongside me. I can only imagine how marvelous you would look on the throne.” He slowly looked you up and down, then wetted his lips before meeting your eyes again and said in such a low voice, “And in bed.”

You were taken aback and you turned to face him. “What?”

He smirked at your reaction, “Oh, I see those looks you give me, the way you act with me,” he said, approaching you and trapping you against the table.

“I’m giving you one more chance.” You said, but Loki continued as if you hadn’t said anything.

“You wanted to lay with me the moment you met me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” You balled your fists.

“Oh, it’s not flattery. I wanted you, you wanted me... In fact, that was the whole reason why I broke into your apartment that night.”

“Why are you saying these things?” You asked.

“Because it’s the truth.”

“No, it’s not.” You said defensively, your fear increasing.

“Yes—” you threw Darkness into his face and he staggered backwards, glaring at you.

You sent a larger piece at him, but he aimed the staff at it and a white blast came from the tip, incinerating it.

He lunged at you and grabbed your arm. You kneed him in the stomach as he grabbed your hair tightly and wound it in his hands, making you shout.

Just as you were getting ready to summon more Darkness, he turned you around and slammed your head on the table, once, twice, three times before letting you go and taking a step back.

The room was spinning and you felt like you were going to throw up.

You concluded that you had a concussion as you tried to grab the edge of the table and support yourself, but you kept slipping back to your knees. You felt blood trickle down the side of your head.

You shook your head, trying to snap out of the fog you were feeling. You twirled your hand then let out a yelp as a sharp pain pierced the right side of your head and blood ran down your nose. You tried again, and got the same thing, but this time with a throbbing headache.

You were powerless.

You pulled out a dagger from it’s sheath around your leg as you tried to stand.

“Ooh, careful now,” he said in a mocking tone, “you don’t want to stab yourself.”

When you managed to stay on your feet, you turned to him, the hand holding your weapon was shaking.

“Loki,” you panted, “you can stop this. Right here, right now.”

He drummed his fingers on the staff and had a contemplative look on his face, but then turned to you and simply said, “Have you met anyone who wanted to stop having fun?”

You made a weak run at him, but he simply stepped to the side as you passed by and tripped you with his staff, and you stumbled to the ground.

You groaned and got up on wobbly legs. You saw bright white and black dots flickering in your vision as turned around and saw him handing the staff to a guard, then making his way towards you. You tried to call for the rest of your teammates, but the communication in your ear was fritzy, so you pulled it out and tossed it onto the ground and faced Loki again.

You turned the dagger in your hand as you got steady footing. You threw yourself at him and drove your arm down into his side, stabbing the dagger into him.

You punched him in the face then did the same to his stomach. He then grabbed your hand and twisted it roughly behind your back and grabbed your hair again, pulling you close to his chest.

“You show respect for your king, you little witch.” He growled, then you slammed the back of your head into his face, making him growl loudly and shove you to the ground.

He pulled out the dagger in his side and tossed it to the floor, then placed his hand on his nose to feel if was broken.

You grinned, yes, you made sure it would be broken. Seeing you smile made him throw himself to his knees and grab the front of your uniform, pulling you close to him.

“I should personally behead you.” He spat, and you felt intense sadness inside you. He was too far gone. The Loki you knew was gone.

“I could do so many horrors to you.” He snarled, slowly standing up and pulling you up with him. He moved his hand to your throat to get a better grip on you. “Mental torture, physical torture, things you could never dream about.” He said as you struggled to pry his hand from your throat.

He was now standing up straight, with you a few inches off the ground. You couldn’t breath, and the edges of your vision were going dark.

“Slowly. Intimately. And when you think it’s over, when you think your precious family rescued you, I’ll rip your heart out.” He snapped.

He tossed you to the ground roughly and you groaned, your body aching.

“You really think I cared about you, or Thor, about anybody?” He said, then landed a hard kick to you in the stomach and you practically flew across the room.

He stalked up to where you landed, you puked a mixture of your breakfast and a heavy amount of blood out of your mouth as you got on all fours and held your chest.

“All I ever wanted were you and the Avengers dead at my feet!” He shouted, then kicked you again.

You went flying again, and your head connected hard with the gold floor. You coughed up more blood as you lay sprawled on your back, blood oozing out of your mouth.

Your vision was blurry as you tried to blink the tears of pain out of your eyes, you were ready to pass out, you could go as far as to say that you were ready to die, but one look at the evil grin on his face made you want to fight back.

With arms that felt like jelly, you flopped over to your stomach and painfully brought your arms under yourself and pushed yourself onto your knees, sucking in a breath and holding back a scream. You managed to wobble to a stand, ignoring hot sparks of pain running up and down your chest and the fact that your vision was slanted.

“Loki...” He grabbed your right arm and twisted it backwards, making you finally scream out in pain.

“Kneel.” He growled, then twisted your arm back further, making you scream again.

The pain was agonizing, causing you to fall to your knees, “You were just a pathetic piece in my game. And I won.” He said.

“This... This isn’t you...” You slurred looking up at him.

“Oh, indeed it isn’t. In fact, you have never seen what I truly looked like.” He closed his eyes and concentrated. You let out a groan and lowered your head.

“This is the true me.” You looked back up and saw his skin had turned blue with tribal markings. When he opened his eyes, you saw that they were red.

You felt his hand gripping your broken arm grow cold.

“So, you were right all those months ago; I am a monster.” He said with a grin, then with his right hand started punching you over and over again. Each time his fist connected with your face, it felt like someone was hitting you with a large block of ice.

You couldn’t scream in pain, you couldn’t call for help of any kind, all you could do was sit there and take his beatings. You barley noticed when your right arm started growing cold, until it the pain felt like it was on fire. Your shoulder and neck tingled as the intense frostbite slowly crept up your arm.

He suddenly stopped hitting you, and you let out a ragged sigh through your broken mouth. Your head hung loosely, by now he had punched you over twenty times, and you felt everything in your face was broken and cold. Your vision was blurred and red, probably due to all the blood dripping into your eyes.

The contrast of your blood on his blue hands made you sick.

He knelt down to your level and tilted your head to look up at him as the blue slowly drained from his face, bringing back the face you had loved so much.

“Checkmate.” He smirked, then let go of you and stood.

You fell onto the cold floor, the impact sending shocks of pain up and down your body, then suddenly everything as dull and cold.

“Don’t bleed on my floor.” He said, then turned is back on you. You faintly heard him call for someone, then you were being picked up by two guards and being lead out into an archway where a balcony faced the rest of the city.

Loki smirked at all the chaos. “Chaos is inevitable.” He recalled from one of the books he had read, _The Map of Chaos_.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he had caught the attention of his citizens.

“My fellow Asgardians.” He said as the guards dropped you onto the ground with a hard thud. A few people gasped and shielded their children from your bloody form.

“This woman had tried to assassinate your king.” He gazed down at your body. An explosion went off in the distance.

“But do not worry, as you see, she has been taken care of. Your king is more than capable of keeping himself safe to rule over you.”

He looked back up at the citizens, “Let her be an example.”

Then he turned back around and went back up the stairs with the guards following him.

As he left, a Leviathan roared and flew down to the citizens, making them flee in terror.

 

You lied on the grown, unmoving.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for liking/loving this fic, and it makes me really happy to know that people like/love this. Thank you for all the kudos, and comments! <3 <3 <3


	19. Forgive Me, My Tigress pt 3/3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! Sorry for the long wait! Been busy with life and stuff. But anyways, here ya go! Chapter 19!

 

Natasha flew on one of the Chitauri chariots with Clint standing behind her, shooting arrows into Chitauri. After he had called for backup when he couldn’t find you, Nat had flown in.

She flew the chariot around the palace where a few more Chitauri were coming out from. They had killed almost all of the Chitauri, but hadn’t found Loki, and they hadn’t heard anything from you.

“God, Tony’s gonna be so pissed. I’m never gonna hear the end of it.” Clint muttered, pulling a makeshift arrow out of his quiver.

He hadn’t seen or heard from you for an hour. They flew around Asgard, clearing the rest of the aliens.

“Oh my god.” Nat said, then suddenly pulled the chariot down, making Clint grab the side and curse as the flying vehicle bumped into the ground.

Clint looked around and saw Nat run off the chariot, “What’s the—” he saw where she had run to: a body.

He felt fear wash over him when he got up and saw the legs. His eyes trailed up to the waist and he saw the familiar belt.

No, no. It couldn’t be you. With trembling legs, he approached the body Natasha was kneeling over and held back a scream.

He shut his eyes and looked away from you.

“Is she—”

“Yeah.” Nat muttered.

Clint nodded bitterly. He vaguely heard Natasha demanding that Steve, Tony, Thor and Bruce to meet her where she was. They told her that they were busy fighting, but when she said your name they immediately said they’d be there.

Tony was the first to arrive and landed roughly on the ground behind Natasha. He ripped off his helmet as she stood and apologized, moving away from your body.

He let out a painful scream and fell to his knees, cradling your bloody and bruised face.

Tears ran down his cheeks as he pressed his face into your neck, he wrapped his arms around you, pulling your upper body onto his lap. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry...” He cried, sobs wracking his body.

Steve came from the side of the castle, shield in hand as he looked around cautiously then approached the scene with a grim look on his face as the Hulk stomped along behind him. Thor landed next to Clint and watched Tony holding onto his niece, crying.

Clint and Thor glanced at each other. Finally, Tony looked up with seriousness in his eyes and said, “Thor, you get your goddamned brother in chains and bring him to me, because I want to kill him myself.”

Thor nodded then started swinging his hammer in a circle quickly, then took off into the air and flew into the palace. The Hulk let out a roar that made the ground rumble, and you gasped and your eyes flew open.

Tony looked at you, astonished. You let out a scream in fright and looked at your uncle, “Wh-what the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me.”

“Are you guys getting déjà vu?” Steve whispered to the others, they nodded.

“Must be a Stark thing.” Clint suggested.

“No, nobody kissed you.” Tony chuckled, smoothing back some of your blood plastered hair. You nodded and your eyes closed.

“Nightlight? Nightlight?! (Y/n)!” He shook you.

“Tony, she needs rest and a hospital.” Steve said, stepping forward.

“Ok,” He let out a shaky breath. “You guys can handle the clean up?”

“Of course, Tony. You don’t need to ask.” Clint said.

“We’re never stepping foot in Asgard ever again.” He said, picking up his nice who, literally, had her life scared back into her. He activated the rocket boosters and flew into the air and to the Bifrost.

He tried to keep his breathing even as he landed and walked quickly into the Observatory. Heimdall instantly knew and put his sword in the slot. Electricity sparked underneath the panel and Tony and you were sucked back to Earth.

 

 

The two of appeared in front of a hospital and Tony rushed in and yelled, “I need a doctor! You know who I am!”

A man with bright orange hair in a white coat rushed up to him.

“You save her or I will make sure everyone in the room is fired and never gets a job again.” Tony said.

Then the doctor started shouting out for everyone to move it and get a gurney. He shouted orders and checked her pulse; hardly any. Tony followed quickly down the hall.

A nurse asked Tony what happened. He responded that he wasn’t sure, but she had probably been beaten. The doctor said that they’ll have to do several emergency surgeries, but Tony couldn’t hear what else he was saying, because a few nurses stopped him from entering the Emergency Room.

“Get your hands off me. I’m Tony Stark, I am Iron Man, and that is my niece in there!” He said, pointing at the door.

“Sir, it would be best if you waited out here. We’ve never had a patient with so many wounds on them, and the extent of those wounds... it will take a while to fix them all, and you might just get in the way. Just wait out here and fill out some papers.” The nurse said.

Tony stared at her then said, “If she doesn’t get better, you’re the first one I’m firing.” Then he walked back down the hall and sat in the waiting room and somebody immediately handed him the papers he had to fill out. He quickly signed, checked, and circled things, then handed it back to the person at the front desk, then sat back down in his chair.

He stayed there for a long time, watching people come and go. People watched him sit there in his Iron Man suit, his arms crossed and a murderous look on his face.

Eventually news reporters got a whiff that he was there, and practically every reporter in the state barged into the hospital, flashing cameras, asking questions and putting microphones in his face. He stared straight forward for the entire time, pretending that they weren’t there.

Eventually, the wave of people were sent out side, but that didn’t stop them from taking pictures through the glass. The sun slowly dipped down and vanished under the horizon, and it became night, and the doctor still hadn’t come out.

“Tony, where are you?” Steve’s voice said through the earpiece.

“At a hospital.” He said absentmindedly, still staring at the far wall.

“Well, the Gatekeeper sent us to Stark Towers. Which hospital are you at?”

“No, no. It should just be me here...”

“Tony, are you sure? I don’t think—”

“Gotta go, doctor’s here.” Then Tony hung up. Tony stood, “Is she alive?”

The doctor nodded. Tony thanked the god he didn’t believe in.

“But she’s in a coma.”

His spirits fell, “When will she wake up?”

“We don’t know.” He said, then made a gesture to follow him.

They exchanged names.

“She has had severe brain trauma; if she wakes up it could be good or bad.” Dr. Evans said.

“What’s the good?” Tony asked as they turned left.

“The good would be her waking up at all. She’d be lucky if all she had is amnesia. The bad is her waking up and being a vegetable; or not waking up at all.”

Tony gritted his teeth.

“To be honest, Mr. Stark.” Dr. Evans stopped him in the hallway,

“We’ve never seen anything like this, someone injured that bad. Every bone in her torso and up is broken or fractured; it’s like someone put an intricate tower made from Legos inside a bag and rolled over it with a truck.”

Tony made a face. They started walking again, Tony’s metal boots making a loud clanging sound with each step he took.

“But she’s alive; somehow. It’s really a miracle.”

Tony rolled his eyes. Dr. Evans lead Tony to his office and closed the door behind him. The doctor hung up about two dozen X-rays and CAT scans onto a panel of white light that was attached to the wall.

“Look at this,” the doctor gestured to one of the X-rays. “This was her right arm. It was twisted backwards one hundred and eighty degrees. No human has that much strength to turn it that far. Everything in it: broken. For a perspective; crocodiles have thirty-seven hundred pounds psi when they slam their jaws shut. If they had a hold of one of your limbs while they did a Death Roll, the outcome would be similar to this.” The doctor let that hang in the air.

“I thought you were a doctor, not a zoologist.” Tony said.

“It was my minor.” Dr. Evans said quickly, “Then on top of that, her arm was frozen solid, which took place _after_ her arm was twisted. It’s quite unreal.” He turned to Tony, “We had to amputate to stop the spread of further frostbite.”

Tony swallowed and nodded once. Dr. Evans moved to the other side of the board, “Her lungs were damaged, filled with a little bit of blood but nothing major, we were able to fix it. But she’s on a machine that’ll help her breathe. Her heart is fine... Now take a look at her ribs. Thirteen broken spots. From whenever she got these wounds up until I fixed them, it must have been so painful to breathe.”

He moved to a CAT scan, “A few of her internal organs had bleeding, probably around the same time her ribs were broken. Most likely caused from the same thing; a powerful blow to the stomach or chest. But we stitched them up. Her spine,” he pointed to an X-ray, “everything that’s she’s been through, she’s lucky to have it. Only some minor bruising, absolutely nothing serious. If she wakes up—”

“ _When_. When she wakes up.” Tony snapped.

“When... she wakes up, she’d be able to walk. If her brain can send the proper signals.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like I said, severe brain damage.” Dr. Evans pointed to a CAT scan of a brain. “The white spots are where hemorrhaging happened. Also, of course, a concussion. Her jaw on the left side is broken...”

Tony droned him out, staring blankly at the papers. He couldn’t comprehend that these pictures of broken and bruised things belonged to his niece. And brought on by someone she had loved.

He balled his fists and gritted his teeth. Yes, he would kill Loki. Thor or Thor’s father should have done that after he had destroyed New York.

He would make Loki suffer the way he had made (Y/n) suffer.

“When can I see her?” He asked, interrupting whatever the doctor was saying.

“I don’t recommend it, given her physical state—”

“Simple question. Yes or no?” Tony growled.

The doctor sighed, “Yes.”

“Lead the way.”

The doctor guided Tony out of his office and down the hall where the hospital rooms were. They turned another corner and the doctor knocked gently on the first door on the right; room 237.

When no one answered, he gently pushed it open and let Tony enter.

“I’ll give you a minute alone.”

Then the door closed.

It was a very big room. He stepped out of the Iron Man suit, then it went back together. He took a few steps forward and saw the law his bed with his niece laying on it, comatose. Her face was completely bandaged up and she had a tube going down her throat.

There was a lot of beeping from the machines, but they all seemed to be working fine since the beeping was steady. And, like the doctor had said, they had amputated her arm. A bandage wrapped around the area the doctor had severed only a few hours ago.

They had apparently cut off the upper half of her suit and whatever she was wearing under it and replaced it with more bandages.

Tony pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat in it, holding back tears. This wasn’t a situation he could fix by throwing money at it, or blast it to pieces with his suit.

“I don’t know what to do.” He croaked.

Why?

Why did this had to happen to her? First Tony lost his best friend at the age of twenty-three giving birth to a child, now that same child is going through something horrible at the same age her mother was.

 _That couldn’t be a coincidence_ , he thought, _someone must be out to get me_. Then he realized that the event that happened to his best friend had happened years ago, before Tony invented anything.

He needed someone, anyone, he needed to be anchored down into the real world before he went insane. “Jarvis,” he said, his voice wavering, “Tell Pepper to come here. Tell her to drop everything that she’s doing and to come here.”

“Yes, sir.”

About an hour later Pepper arrived. He heard her call her name out quietly then shut the door.

Tony got up when he heard her gasp. He pulled her into a hug they both sorely needed. He cradled her head when she started sobbing against him.

After a while she had stopped and they were just sitting in the room, holding each other.

There was another knock at the door, and the last— well, second to last— person Tony wanted to see entered: director Nick Fury.

Tony bolted up to his feet, “You son of a bitch. This is all your fault.” Tony snarled, his body physically shaking from anger.

“My condolences, Stark.” He said, bowing his head.

“We’re done with your crap S.H.I.E.L.D.” He growled.

“I would only assume so.” Nick said, gazing at the body on the bed.

“If you had only listened to logic, one of your best agents wouldn’t be down for the count.” Tony said, his voice getting louder.

“My _niece_ wouldn’t be down for the count! She wouldn’t be so weak that she had to be attached to _machines_ to keep her alive!” He walked around to the left side of the bed and pointed to a short machine that kept her breathing, “If anyone unplugged this, she’s _gone_! _That_ is how weak she is! And it’s all because of you.”

“I couldn’t argue with a god that rules over the universe, and then some.” Nick said, keeping his voice calm.

“You could have at least tried! Or thought about the consequences!”

“I did. I never thought—”

“I want you out.” Tony said in such a calm voice it made Pepper uneasy. “I don’t ever want to see your face again. If I do, I’ll kill you.”

There was a stretch of silence before Nick sighed, “As you were, Stark. Potts.”

Then he turned around and left the room.

Tony stared at the door, his fists shaking. Tears ran down his face and he fell to his knees. Pepper rushed to his side and wrapped her arms around him as he rested his head on her lap.

He gripped her legs as Pepper ran her fingers through his brown hair.

“What do I do, Pepper?” He cried.

“You’re Tony Stark; you can do anything. You single-handedly killed all of those aliens in New York. You invented the worlds first weaponized suit of armor while being kidnapped. Tony, you take care of your family, your friends, you’re the best man I know.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead.

But they both knew there was nothing to do but wait.

And Tony Stark hated waiting.


	20. Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, babes. Chapter 20 :-**

 

A week passed and everyone had stopped asking if Tony was ok, because whenever they did he would only respond with “I’m not the one in the coma right now.”

At one point Natasha had asked him the question and he responded with that, then she put him straight. She told him to stop being a pain in the ass to everyone, and let him know that everyone was hurting as well.

He nodded and apologized.

Tony visited his niece from the moment visiting hours were open, and until it was closed. Sometimes the other Avengers would come with Tony.

Except Thor.

He was to stand watch all day to keep an eye on Loki. No one believed what Loki was saying, that he had been brainwashed. Thor would just shake his head sorrowfully and keep pacing.

Thor told Loki that he should be lucky to be alive in that cell, because Tony had plans to end his life. When they learned that Tony had quit S.H.I.E.L.D., Bruce quit as well. Then Clint, then Steve, Natasha, and Thor.

One day Loki’s pleads had reached the living area. Tony was fiddling around with the microwave because Pepper had suggested that he start to build things again, to take his mind off of (Y/n), but he said it would be a while since he ever invented anything.

Upon hearing his prisoner, Tony tossed the microwave to the floor and it broke into pieces, sending sparks flying. He got up and stormed behind the bar and up the stairs, then down the hall where to containment chamber was. Pepper kept up her pace with his.

After the first day they were in the hospital, Tony made her promise not to leave his side.

When they entered the room, Tony glared at Loki, then to Thor.

“Why isn’t he shut up?”

“I did not know you could hear him, I apologize.” Thor said.

Tony turned around to leave.

“It wasn’t me who hurt her.” Loki said.

Tony slowly turned around. “Excuse me?”

“Please, I’ve told you, it wasn’t me.” He begged, looking up at Tony from his spot on the floor.

Tony let out a bitter chuckle, “You didn’t hurt her. You wanna see what you ‘ _didn’t_ ’ do to her?”

He turned to Thor, “Get his handcuffs and the muzzle. We’re taking this dog for a walk.”

Thor nodded as Tony left. “Jarvis, get a car ready.”

“Of course, sir.”

They went back to the living room and called for the elevator with Pepper.

“Tony, I think you should go back to inventing things. You know how much you love that.” Pepper gently suggested again.

“Why? Because I’m drowning my sorrows in alcohol and that’s not good for me? Because I’m fiddling around with microwaves until they catch fire?” Tony asked sarcastically. “It’s not like I’m inspired to invent anything right now.” He said as the elevator doors opened to the underground garage.

A chauffeur opened the back doors and let Tony and Pepper in.

Two minutes later Thor and Loki entered as well. They sat facing each other; Tony and Pepper on one side, and Thor and Loki to the other.

It was a silent car ride to the hospital.

When they arrived in the parking lot Tony put on his sunglasses and led the four of them through a back door, which he opened with a hospital key card Dr. Evans had given him.

Tony lead them down the hall to where his niece’s room was. When he got to the door, he knocked lightly to see if anyone was in there.

Tony turned to Loki, “You wanna see what you didn’t do to her?” Then he pushed the door open gently and let everyone in.

He took off his sunglasses as Thor pushed Loki further into the room to see the damage he had done.

They heard a sob be ripped from his throat.

She was in the same state she was a week ago; no improvements, or declines, in her health.

“The doctor’s don’t know when she’ll wake up— or if she’ll wake up.” Tony said bitterly. He took three papers from his jacket out and cleared his throat, “These are all the things you did to her.”

Then he began to read off the pages— front and back— aloud. He took care to put the list in order of severity; minor things first, horrible things last.

By the time the list was finished, Loki couldn’t stand on his own, and was crying.

“Oh, stop it with the crocodile tears.” Tony snapped. “I want you to take a good, long look at her, because this is probably the last image of her you— or anyone, will see of her. No more of her smiles, no more of her quirks or her weird as hell hiccups, no more of her apple pies, no more Foosball...” He trailed off, getting caught up with the emotions.

Pepper took his hand. He cleared his throat, but you could still hear the tears trying to force their way out, “This is the last image any of us will see her as. Laying on a bed, hooked up to machines. Because of you.”

Then they listened to Loki’s heart-wrenching sobs.

“Thor, let him go.” Pepper said, fiddling with her necklace.

Thor let go of his brothers’ arms and Loki fell to the floor, sobbing and crying uncontrollably. He lifted his bound hands and gripped the bed sheets. He might have been saying something, but no one could understand what he was saying through the muzzle.

“This is pathetic.” Tony growled, then tried to pull Loki up by the crook of his arm.

“Let. Go.” He snapped, pulling again, but Loki had gripped onto the leg of the bed the was bolted to the floor.

“A little help, Thor?” Tony said angrily.

Now they could definitely hear Loki screaming ‘no’ and ‘please’.

Thor crouched down to him and gently was prying his hands off the bed post. “Don’t make things worse for you, brother.”

Pepper left the room and waited outside in the hall, tears running down her face as well.

Thor finally got Loki’s hands removed from the post and wrapped his arm around his back, helping the other prince stand.

“Let’s go.” Tony said, ushering them out of the room and closing the door. Tony glared at Loki, who was twisting around in Thor’s grip and his arms outstretched, reaching for the room.

Pepper grabbed her boyfriend’s arm, “Tony—”

“What?” He snapped, shaking himself free.

Thor stopped with Loki in the hall.

Pepper turned to them and cleared her throat, “Y-you guys can head to the car. We’ll catch up with you.”

Thor nodded, then proceeded to leave the hospital the same way they had entered.

Pepper turned back to her boyfriend with tears in her eyes, “Tony, you don’t have to be cruel—”

“I think I have every right to be cruel after what he did.” He said, gesturing to his nieces room door.

“Tony, yes he hurt her, I’m not denying that, but he might still have feelings for her.”

“Bullcrap. He never had feeling for her, he’s incapable of feeling. His entire time with us was just for him to get close to us and tear us up from the center, just like he did with Coulson.” He explained.

“Then why the hell make that huge show in the room?” She asked, her voice shrill, “What would he gain from that?!”

“Me being soft and letting him off easy by not—” he lowered his voice somewhat, “killing him! Those are not real tears, Pepper! He’s faking it!”

Pepper stayed silent at that, turning her back on him and covering her face with her hands.

Tony sighed then pinched the bridge of his nose. He was angry.

He was angry and sad and wanted all of this to end. He wasn’t in the mood to apologize to anyone.

He stayed in his spot for a moment before hugging Pepper.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.” He said as they pulled away. Pepper offered him a small smile then nodded, taking a deep breath and wiped the tears from her face.

He weakly smiled back and they started back down the hall. They left the hospital discreetly and he donned his sunglasses once more.

They entered the car and slammed it shut. The driver started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

Thor gazed out through the dark window as his arm wrapped around Loki held him up.

Tony scrubbed a hand over his face, every time he visited the hospital— which was every day —always took a toll on him. Pepper stared out the window as well, thinking of ways to make Tony a little less miserable.

 

 

Loki was back in his cell in Stark Towers, to stay there indefinitely. The first few days he had been screaming like a mad man about someone called the Other and Thanos, saying that he’d kill them himself for what they’d made him do.

But as the days went on he stopped yelling— only having a small outburst every now and then —and became more quiet. He laid on his side on the floor, his back facing his brother as he covered his face with his arms and wept, saying apologies over and over again.

Tony couldn’t stand it either, staying drunk most of the day until someone dumped ice water on him. He would then wake up startled, string a slew of curse words at the person, ask them if they thought they knew a damn about what he was going through— because they don’t, then fall back to sleep.

Pepper was suffering, too. She couldn’t get any sleep, unlike her boyfriend. (Y/n) was like a daughter to her, and it hurt her so much to know that someone she had loved did that to her.

 

 

She was up again.

She wiped the tears from her face and rolled over to check the time; it was three A.M. She felt Tony kick his leg slightly in his sleep beside her. He had managed to drink himself to bed, again.

Pepper closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, her mind wandering to the unthinkable that had happened. She heard the faint anguished scream that belonged to no other than Loki.

She turned over to face Tony and held a pillow tightly in her arms. Loki had been saying that it wasn’t him, but no one believed him.

Of course it was him. Thor had seen him with (Y/n)’s blood— _Stop_. She told herself.

 _He’s a liar, always will be_ , she thought.

There was only one thing she wanted to know from him: were his feelings real? Did he care about (Y/n) at all? Or was it all just another lie? She wished she could know.

Wait a second, Tony did mention Loki had gone through a test by some guy who could see if anyone was lying.

She sat up.

What was his name? Ugh, it was so long ago... something... something with a ‘D’ in the name.

Pepper pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead, trying to remember the name.

The answer wasn’t coming to her. She huffed and laid back down. If she caught Tony for a moment of not being drunk tomorrow, maybe he’d know.

No, wait! Thor knew! Pepper smiled, she could ask him, and she wouldn’t worry about him being suspicious too much.

 

 

“Thor?”

A few seconds passed then the room door opened, “Yes, Pepper? Is anything wrong? Clint has Loki under control?” He asked.

“Yes. Everything’s fine. May I...?” She gestured to the room.

“Of course.” Thor said, holding the door wider so she could enter. “How are you?”

She shrugged, “Been better.”

She cleared her throat, “Do you remember when Loki and you went to see that guy when Loki first came here?”

Thor nodded as he moved to his bed and started folding his clothes.

“Do you happen to remember his name he went by?” She asked, “I know it starts with the letter ‘D’.”

“I think it was Daredevil.”

“Right! Daredevil. And do you also happen to remember where he lives?”

“I believe he protects a place called Hell’s Kitchen. Why?” He asked, his eyebrows knitting together in suspicion.

“Just wondering.” Pepper smiled, then left the room. She went down the hall to the living area.

She waved to Natasha and Clint who were standing in the kitchenette talking; they waved back.

She made her way to her boyfriend, “Hey, Tony.” Pepper said, brushing back his hair and placing a kiss on his hairline.

She sat on the arm of the couch while Tony laid out on it, black sunglasses covering his eyes as he attempted to recover from his hangover. He grunted in acknowledgement.

“I’m heading out for a little bit, ok?”

“Where?” He asked tiredly.

“Hells Kitchen. Just for a few hours.”

He hesitated before saying, “Ok. Call me when you’ll be heading back.”

“Will do.” She leaned over him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, ignoring the fact that he tasted like alcohol. She stood and walked to the elevator and pushed the button.

The doors dinged open and she pressed the button to the lobby. “And where are we going today, Ms. Potts?”

“Hells Kitchen.”

“Would you like me to ready a car?” Jarvis asked.

She planned to take the subway, but now she realized that she would need a way to bring Daredevil back with her without anyone noticing. “Sure, thank you.” Pepper smiled.

“It’s my pleasure.” Jarvis responded, redirecting the elevator to the basement.

The doors dinged open and a very non-conspicuous car was waiting.

Her shoes clicked against the perfectly smooth floor as the approached and entered the car, closing the back door behind herself.

The driver pulled out of the basement and onto the street. It was midday and the traffic was insane, but luckily the driver was able to find some other streets he could take, which made the drive much quicker.

When she spotted a motel, she told the driver to pull over into the parking lot and he obliged with a nod of his head.

He parked the car in the spot he had found and got out to open the door and opened it for Pepper. She thanked him as she got out and he shut the door.

“Ms. Potts? Are you sure that you wouldn’t like me to stay with you?”

She looked from the motel to her driver and smiled, “No. But thank you.”

He nodded and got into the car, reversed, then drove away from the motel.

Pepper went inside the yellow building and rented a room for the night.

The woman at the desk gave her the room key and Pepper thanked her, then said she would check in later that day, then asked if there were any nice restaurants nearby.

The woman said that there was a Lebanese restaurant a few blocks down.

Pepper thanked her again, put the room key in her purse, then left the lobby to go out on the sidewalk.

She walked down the street, following the woman’s directions to the restaurant. She looked up at the sky; blue sky, some clouds, and a warmish breeze.

She turned her attention back in front of her, her mind wasn’t on the weather.

Her mind was occupied with the task of finding the infamous Daredevil. She knew he only came out at night, so she had a few hours to metaphorically kill.

She entered the restaurant and was put at a table immediately, since she was dining alone.

The waiter asked if she would like to drink.

 _What the hell_ , she thought, then ordered a sangria and asked for a few more minutes to decide on what she was going to eat.

The waiter nodded, then left.

Pepper looked at her menu.

How was she supposed to get Daredevil’s attention? While trying to figure that out, she picked out what she wanted to eat and told her waiter when he passed by.

He took her menu and she turned back to her table, taking a sip of her drink.

She pondered her plans for a few minutes, then decided.

She would have to be bait.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hells yeah! Daredevil! Matt Murdock! Hope you're loving this fic as much as I love writing it.


	21. An Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awesome! Chapter 21! Aaaand, Daredevil!! I posted this chapter a little earlier for you guys, so here you lovies go. Treat yo self <3  
> Also, I'd like to say hi to any new readers who's just finding this fic! Hello!

 

Pepper sat on the edge of the bed in the motel room. She just got off the phone with Tony, lying that her sister was in town, which explained why she was out late.

She steeled her nerves then briskly got up, left the room, and walked down the darkened street.

She held her purse tightly. Inside rested pepper-spray and a gun, in case anything went hairy.

“All right, it’s fine. He’ll come.” Pepper muttered as a chilly breeze swept down the street. She made a random right then heard it.

Footsteps.

“Alright, take it easy. Breathe.” She muttered to herself, “You have mace in your purse. Relax.”

“Hey, sweetheart! Where you headed so late?” The man asked, moving up next to her.

She stopped and faced him; he had a grin that sent bad shivers through her. “Trying to get back to my apartment.” She giggled, trying to seem drunk, “But I don’t remember where it is.”

The man shrugged then clasped his hand around her wrist. Pepper wondered briefly if he could hear how loud her heart was beating.

“We could go back to my place.” He suggested, starting to tug her down the street.

“I— I have a party I need to go to.” She said, trying to pull away from the man, but his grip was like iron on her wrist.

“I have a better party. Now come _on_.”

She let out a scream that echoed down the dark streets loudly. The man whirled around, and just as he was going to cover her mouth, Daredevil swung down from a light post and kicked him hard in the chest, sending the man flying across the street and hitting s chain link fence before falling to the ground.

He looked in the direction of where the man was on the ground.

 _How could he see if he has his eyes covered_? Pepper wondered, then the vigilante turned to her.

“Are you alright?” He asked in a calm but stern voice.

“Yes, thank you.” She held out her hand for him to shake, “I’m—”

“Pepper Potts. CEO of Stark Indistries.” He finished.

When he didn’t shake Pepper’s hand, she simply lowered it.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you?”

“No comment.” He said turning and leaving.

“Wait! I know about S.H.E.I.L.D. and Nick Fury!”

He stopped dead then slowly turned around, “What do you want?”

Pepper walked up to him, “I want your help. Do you remember when you interviewed Loki for his sentence to stay here?”

“Yes.”

“He’s done something horrible recently, I want to know if he’s lying.”

“Does this have anything to do with Tony Stark waiting in the hospital a few days ago?” Daredevil asked.

“Yes.”

Daredevil thought hard before finally answering, “Fine. I’ll check him again.”

“Thank you so much.” Pepper said, taking out her phone to call for a ride back to Stark Towers.

“If you ever need anything, just let me know, here’s my card.”

She handed it to Daredevil, and he awkwardly took it.

 

 

In the elevator, Pepper took off her high heels, as to not wake anyone up when they get onto the floor.

“Everyone should be asleep, except maybe Thor, so we have to be quiet. And Tony doesn’t know you’re here.” Pepper explained.

The doors dinged open and the pair quietly strode across the floor.

“Would you like to know something about Loki?” He asked in a low voice.

“Sure.” Pepper said, leading him behind the bar.

“He’s really unusual. How I can tell when people are lying is when their heart beats faster than normal because they’re nervous. I can hear it, and it gives them away. But with Loki, it’s the opposite. When he lies, his heart is calm; but when he tells the truth, it’s erratic. I think it’s because something in his past happened to him that when he tells the truth, it makes him feel vulnerable.”

“How’d you figure that out?” Pepper asked, leading him down the hall.

“His brother told me which stories Loki was telling lying about and which ones he was telling the truth about.”

Pepper nodded then opened the door to the room with Loki’s cell.

She guided Daredevil into the room, and he didn’t move from that spot. He got a feel for the room as Pepper’s feet echoed slightly on the metal floor.

She walked over to where Thor sat in a chair, his arms were crossed and was sleeping. She placed her hand on his shoulder and gently shook him awake, “Thor?”

He sat up straight and rubbed his eyes, “Pepper? Is something wrong?”

“No.” She removed her hand from his shoulder as he stretched his arms upward, “I wanted Daredevil to talk to Loki again.”

“Are you sure that would be wise?” He said, looking from the man in the red uniform to Loki.

“I just need to know a few things, ok?” Pepper said.

Thor sighed then stood, approached the illuminated glass cell and rapped on the wall a few times. “Loki?”

The man on the floor didn’t stir.

“Loki, I know you’re awake.”

“What is it, Odinson?” Loki asked with malice in his voice. He hated his brother, and everyone else who didn’t believe him.

 He was alone. Again.

“Daredevil is here.”

At that, Loki quickly sat up and turned to face the man who protected Hells Kitchen.

Loki was still pretty banged up from when Thor had battled with him before bringing him to his prison in Stark Towers, still having some cuts and bruises on his face, and some hidden under his armor.

“Hello, Loki.” Daredevil said with a smirk and walking close to the cell.

Loki staggered to a stand and went to greet him. “Please, make them believe me.” He begged.

“I don’t know if I can do that.” Daredevil answered honestly.

“Please, sit.” Pepper said, taking the chair Thor was sitting in and placed it on the the outside of the cell where Loki’s bench was.

Daredevil followed Pepper’s steps and sat in the chair at the same time Loki sat on the bench and leaned against the glass that separated the two.

Daredevil spoke first, “Tell me what happened.”

 

 

Loki told him everything.

Now that he trusted Daredevil, he told him about how he was captured, tortured, and brainwashed at the hands of The Other and Thanos the _first_ time, when he was sent to conquer Earth.

Loki said once he started getting used to the Avengers and earning their trust, he would have _never_ betrayed or hurt them.

When Loki said that he loved (Y/n), Daredevil was worried at how fast Loki’s heart was beating. Loki must have felt like he was actually laying his life on the line, that anytime he mentioned (Y/n) someone would shut him down.

There was a silence that seemed to go on forever after Loki confessed his feelings.

“Thor, Pepper, would you mind if you left the room for a few minutes?” Daredevil asked.

“I can’t.” Thor said.

Daredevil calculated the distance from where Thor was standing (a couple feet behind him) to the door he had entered.

“By the door would be good.” He said, gesturing in that direction.

“Alright.”

He heard Thor and Pepper’s feet walk over to the door then stop there.

“Loki, you’ve changed a lot since I last met you. Except one thing. Why is it when you tell the truth you get all panicky?”

Loki pulled his legs up to his chest and dusted something nonexistent off of his leather pants.

“I’ve been hurt too many times before all this.” He muttered, then swallowed hard, “I don’t want to get hurt again.”

Daredevil sat there patiently.

“But I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, let alone (Y/n).” Loki pressed pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes and said painfully, “Now she’s going to die because of me.”

“You were brainwashed.”

“I should have been stronger!” He said in a sudden outburst of anger, “I should have been able to fight against it! A second time... I should have been more immune to it...”

Daredevil sat back in the chair, “Tell me about her. (Y/n).”

Loki gave a ragged sigh and removed his hands from his face.

“She’s intelligent, witty, caring. She spent hours with me trying to understand me when no one else would dare try.”

He chuckled then ran a hand through his hair, “When she got mad, she would absolutely _rage_. Usually Barton or Tony or Rogers would make her mad, and when was, _ooooh_ , you better watch out.”

That earned a chuckle from Daredevil, “She seems like a match for you.”

Loki nodded and sighed bitterly.

“You love her.” Daredevil repeated, and Loki nodded again.

“If I could give her all the stars in the universe, I would.” He said, getting choked up as tears brimmed his eyes.

He looked down at his open palms, the ones that had caressed (Y/n) so gently, the same ones that had hurt her.

 

 The same ones that had broken her.

 

“I would give up my immortality for that Midgardian.”

Suddenly the door to the room burst open.

“Who the hell are you and why the hell are you here?!”

“Tony, stop!” Pepper shouted, grabbing his arm, but he yanked it free and stormed over to where Daredevil was now standing.

Loki backed away from the glass and moved to the center of his prison.

“ _Who. The hell. Are you_?” Tony growled.

He stunk of liquor.

“I’m Daredevil. I know who you are.”

“Good. Now tell me _how_  you got in here. Thor?”

“Tony, I brought him in! I wanted him to talk to Loki.” Pepper said.

“ _Why_?” He said venomously, turning to his girlfriend.

“I can tell if people are lying. Loki told me everything that happened.”

At that Tony turned slowly to glare murderously the Asgardian behind the glass, who had a look of pure fear on his face.

“And he’s telling the truth.” Daredevil said.

Just then Steve and Nat burst into the room, but Thor held them back.

Daredevil turned back to Tony when he pushed the mad clad in red.

“Tony!” Pepper said stomping up to him.

“It’s fine.” Daredevil said calmly, holding out a hand to stop her.

“You know what? Pepper’s right.” Tony said, taking a few steps back from Daredevil. “I _am_ taking this out on the wrong person.” Tony said, quickly tapping a few buttons on his watch and walking around the glass cell.

The door opened and Loki backed up. Tony grabbed a hold of Loki and his fists started flying.

There was a collective shout and Thor was the first one to rush in and drag him away from his brother.

Pepper entered the cell and went to her knees to check if Loki was ok, all the while Tony was shouting at him, “You son of a bitch! I hope you rot in hell forever! I’ll see you in hell and you’ll be praying for the devil to kill you!”

Pepper ignored him and tried to check Loki’s face for any injuries, but he covered them with his hands and was crying.

“Please... I-I didn’t mean to...”

Pepper stroked his black hair and he wrapped an arm around her waist tightly, hooking her close to him as she said, “I believe you.”

 

 

Thor shoved Tony onto the couch and simply frowned and shook his head.

“Never thought the famous Tony Stark would be this stupid and arrogant.” Daredevil scoffed.

“You don’t know what I’m going through.” Tony spat, getting up and standing toe-to-toe with the vigilante. “That’s enough.” Thor said, keeping a close eye on the two of them. “You don’t know the _heartache_ , the _suffering_ , the _nightmares_ I have, and that every goddamned day she’s in that coma, the way she looks, I want to die.”

“Loki was brainwashed. Trying to take over Earth, trying to take over Asgard, he was brainwashed.”

“You don’t get it—!” Tony summoned the glove part of his Iron Man suit and it flew onto his hand.

As soon as the first click of it attaching to his hand, Daredevil grabbed Tony and flipped him over his shoulder and slammed him onto the carpet, pinning him down, especially his weaponized hand.

“Loki is telling the truth. He. Was. Brainwashed. He told me that he loved your niece, and he does. He always will. You’re treating him like a rabid animal for things he didn’t do on purpose. You’re out of control and drunk. You say you’re a hero?” Daredevil picked Tony up and held him close to his face and growled, “Then act like one.”

Daredevil dropped him on the floor and everyone watched as he went to the elevator, and took his leave.

 

 

Nobody talked to Tony about Daredevil the next day, or about anything.

As a matter of fact, they tried to avoid him. Which was easy, since he was up the next day as soon as the hospital visiting hours were open.

He sat in the chair placed beside the bed and set down his messenger bag. He zipped it open and sighed, pulling out that days’ newspaper.

He cleared his throat and started reading out loud. He promised to himself that every day he would go and read his niece something; the newspaper, a book, or whatever article he saw online.

Once he finished the newspaper, he folded it up and put it back inside the bag and stood and stretched. He crossed the room and got some water from the water cooler.

He joked with himself that Pepper would be pleased that he was drinking something other than alcohol.

When Tony finished the cup, he crumpled the plastic and tossed it into the waste bin.

“You know, Clint invented a boomerang arrow yesterday. What kind of idiot makes an arrow that follows you after you shoot it?” Tony said, talking to his nieces body.

He wasn’t sure if he believed in the fact that coma patients could hear, but he had to believe in something.

“It’s ridiculous,” Tony continued, going back to sir in his chair, “he said ‘oh, it’s just a decoy in case anyone steals my arrows’ but then I told him that those arrows look like every other one of his arrows. Now he has to take each one apart and see which is which.” Tony sighed, then shook his head as he pulled out one of your favorite books.

“Yeah, he’s loosing whatever bird-brains he had left. At least when he was home he was playing video games or Foosball with... with...” Tony gritted his teeth and stared hard at the book as tears forced their way into his eyes.

He swallowed then slammed the book shut and threw it against the wall harshly, and it thudded onto the floor.

 

 

Tony came back almost at midnight, his eyes red and puffy from crying.

He dropped his bag at the foot of his bed and Pepper stirred and sat up.

“Sorry.” He said, unbuttoning his shirt.

“Never went to sleep.” Pepper said, pushing the blankets down on his side of the bed.

Tony gave a sigh that said ‘what do I do?’.

He got into bed in only his boxers and rested his head on his pillow. Pepper crawled close to him and placed her head on his chest, drawing circles with her index finger under his Arc Reactor, which glowed a soft blue.

He wrapped his right arm around her and placed a kiss on her forehead, then stared up at the dark ceiling. Pepper reminisced the days where Tony was happy, when everything was perfect. Well, as perfect things could get when you were helping fight crime.

 

Then like a bolt of lighting, an idea hit her. Her face broke out into a grin, god, the idea was so simple!

How had she or Tony, or anyone not have thought of it?

She propped herself on her arm and looked down at her boyfriend.

“You know, you should really get back to inventing things.” She said in a seductive voice.

“Hmm?”

With her index finger, she pushed Tony’s chin so that he would face her. “You know... (Y/n)’s right handed.”

“Of course I know she’s right handed.” He said with a slight frown.

“What I’m saying is when (Y/n) wakes up... she’s going to need—”

He gasped, his eyes wide.

She smiled as she watched the cogs and wheels turn in his head.

“Pepper.” He grabbed her and kissed her passionately on the lips.

When they broke apart, Tony had a smile on his face, “What would I do without you?”

He threw off the sheets and bolted out the room and down the hall. Pepper laughed and left the bed as well, going to go follow him.

Pepper watched her boyfriend get excited and tell a tired and disheveled Bruce to get some tools ready as they walked into the living area, then explained what he was going to do.

A few doors opened and Clint, Natasha, and Thor (who was just on his way to go watch Loki) came out of their separate rooms,

“What’s going on?” Nat asked as they all watched the Science Bros go to the table together and pulled up a blue hologram of his niece.

“Tony’s feeling a lot better.” Pepper said, crossing her arms and smiling.

 

The Tony Stark everyone knew was back.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the kudos and comments are really appreciated and bring a really happy smile to my face, knowing you guys love this. Thanks!


	22. Trying To Keep It Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, chapter 22! I'm glad you all are liking this fic so much! And I know some people don't like angst, but Loki's hurting, and Tony's hurting, so there's still gonna be a couple more chapters of that. And there are spoilers for Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, and I'll put an asterisk (*) where it starts and where it ends. But take care, lovelies. <3 <3

 

Days passed, then weeks. Tony and Bruce struggled making a prothstetic for (Y/n), but kept ending up with something similar to one of Tony’s Iron Man gloves. But they wanted something more like a realistic arm.

Tony tried to contact (Y/n)’s neurosurgeon, Doctor Stephen Strange, for information on when her body would be ready for another surgery, but Doctor Evans picked up and explained that the renowned neurosurgeon had gotten into a car crash a few days after (Y/n) had been brought in, but he was now missing. Tony sighed at that news, now having to refer to Doctor Evans as his new doctor for (Y/n).

 

*****

Weeks turned into long, grueling months. In between making the arm, Tony had fought a man called the Mandarin. Tony’s house in Malibu had been destroyed.

Happy, Tony’s long time friend, had gotten injured by one of Killiam’s men and was in a coma.

That hurt Tony hard.

He had then spent a few days in Tennessee with a kid named Harley, who helped him trace the Mandarin to Miami and found out that the man who was seen on t.v., had not been the Mandarin, but an actor named Trevor Slattery. The man behind the Mandarin was one of Pepper’s old friends, Killian.

Pepper had been kidnapped by him and been tested on by a serum Tony had made decades ago to try to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. She had eventually gotten free, but as soon as Tony almost reached her, she fell to her death.

Well, it would have been her death if her body rejected the serum. She emerged from the crash and killed Killian, and Tony and her reunited afterwards. After a few days staying in Stark Towers and fixing Pepper, Tony went back to the rubble that was his home in Malibu. He made Jarvis destroy all of his Iron Man suits, symbolically showing devotion to Pepper. He had undergone surgery to remove the piece of shrapnel in his heart.

At the edge of what used to be his home, he smirked at the arc reactor in his hand. He tossed it into the ocean. He went back to his home in Manhattan and continued working on his nieces arm.

*****

 

Loki slept on floor, dreaming. He usually dreamt of the same things, and it always ended the same way that made him wake up with tears streaming down his face and a scream ready. This time he dreamt he was living in the country with (Y/n), with you, in a large house with a wrap-around porch and a huge yard.

 

 

_He was laying down in bed, his arm draped over you. Loki hummed softly, rubbing your bare side with his hand. He heard you sigh and you rolled onto your back and rubbed your eyes. Loki watched you with a smile as you lowered your hands._

_“Hi.”_

_“Hi.” You giggled, “Why are you up so early?” You asked, looking at the orange sunlight in the room._

_“Remember? We’re going to Asgard,” you nodded, “and I wanted to watch you sleep.” He said._

_You laughed and hit his face with his pillow._

_“What?” He asked with a grin, sitting up._

_“That’s so... sappy.” You said, mirroring his expression and sitting up as well, holding the green blanket over your chest, “I thought we were done with that phase of our relationship.”_

_“Just because we’re married doesn’t mean we can’t do the things we used to.” He said, softly pressing his lips to yours and drawing back._

_“I guess, yeah.” You smiled, rubbing the back of your head as he pecked kisses on your face._ _You sighed in complete bliss, shifting closer to him._

_The two of you heard the toilet in the bathroom flush._

_“Ikol’s up.” You said quietly, and Loki pulled away from you._

_“Shall we continue later?” He asked with that velvety voice of his, rubbing your inner thigh._

_“Of course, my king.” You chuckled._

_The two of you got out of bed and got dressed in pajamas that rested on either side of the bed. You sat back on the mattress and finished buttoning up Loki’s shirt on yourself and watched him silently creep next to the door._

_The door slowly opened and a little boy at the age of four stepped in with caution. He looked at you for help, pleading with his big (color) eyes that he inherited from you, and you very obviously looked from him, then to behind the door._

_Just as he turned around, Loki pounced out and picked up the little boy, who started screaming and laughing, flying him through the air before plopping him on the bed and tickling him._

_“Daddy! Daddy!” The little boy, Ikol, laughed, trying try push his fathers’s hands away._

_You laughed and playfully raised an eyebrow to Loki, and he stopped tickling your son with an exaggerated look of defeat on his face._

_“The young prince Ikol has once again defeated the horrendous monster.” He said dramatically, casting his eyes up to the ceiling then falling back onto his pillow, pretending to be dead._

_“Daddy’s not a monster!” Ikol laughed, crawling on his chest._

_“He’s far from it.” You said with a smile, smoothing down Ikol’s straight, black hair, (which he got from his father) then pressing a kiss to his forehead._

_Loki chuckled and looked at the two of with so much love it was unfathomable. He absolutely loved his life, and he loved the two of you even more._

_“Come on, Ikol, let’s get you dressed so we can go to Asgard.”_

_Your son squealed with excitement, leapt off of his father and ran back to his room._

_You walked over to your shared walk-in closet and pulled your Asgardian clothes out. Over the past few years Loki and Odin had a bond that was somewhat better, and was allowed to visit Asgard; including his family._

_“You too.” You said, casting a look at your husband and playfully slapping his knee._

_“Yes, my queen.” He watched you leave the room, and he shook his head, chuckling._ _He got up and stretched, going to the closet and pulling out his green and gold attire that he didn’t wear as often as he used to._

_He put it on in a few minutes then shouted to his wife, “Shall I make breakfast, or are we going to eat at the palace?”_

_You didn’t respond._

_“Tigress?” He finished fastening the last latch and walked left the room to find that the house was dark. “Ikol?” He asked with seriousness._

_He quickly checked the bathroom, Ikol’s bedroom, and the spare room._

_“(Y/n). This isn’t funny.”_

_He entered the living room and found that everything was dripping: the walls, the floors, the furniture, all dripping with blood._

_“No!” He screamed, looking around, then saw your body on the ground, bloody and looking exactly the way when he had hurt you._

_“No! No, no, no! Please!” He got to his knees and, going to hold you, saw that his hands and arms were covered in blood._

_“No!” He wailed, staggering back, trying to wipe the blood off of him._

_“You did this to me, Loki.” You said, and your body disappeared._

_Then he heard the laughter._

_The deep, chilling laughter that would make even the most powerful or most feared creature in the universe quake in their boots._

_Loki slowly turned around and faced him._

_Thanos._

_“You did a great job, boy.” He said in a rumbling voice._

_“You killed them!” Loki screamed, a dagger appearing in his hand. “You killed my family!”_

_Then Loki ran at him with a ferocious cry, dagger raised._ _He didn’t care that Thanos was almost three times taller than he, but damn it all, he was going to avenge his family._

_Just as the sharp dagger entered his chest, Loki looked up and saw it wasn’t Thanos anymore; it was you. You had the look of shock and fear etched on your face._

_“No!” Loki screamed, pulling out the dagger that was soaked in blood. He gently laid you on the floor and pressed both of his hands over the wound._

_“Loki...?”_

_“I’m sorry, my love, tigress, please... Please forgive me.” He sobbed, putting more pressure on your chest, but the blood just kept oozing from between his fingers._

_“You should have been stronger. You failed me. You should have saved me. But you’re too busy trying to save yourself. Only monsters save themselves.” You spat, and suddenly he was falling._

 

 

Loki woke up drenched with sweat and tears, backing up and frantically trying to rub off the blood he could see so vividly coating his hands.

He panted, scraping his hands as tears streamed down his face, his body shook violently with fear and he felt the need to vomit.

“Loki? What’s wrong?” Thor asked, going to the side of the prison Loki had pressed up against. Loki knew he could never have that perfect life with you. Not now, not ever.

He let his arms go limp and looked at his brother with so much sadness and hopelessness in his eyes and asked, “Can I go take a shower?”

 

*****

A few weeks later Thor had found out that his girlfriend, Jane, had contracted something called the Aether, an Infinity Stone, inside her.

They went to Asgard and an enemy by the name of Malekith wanted the Aether as well, and he and his army of Dark Elves destroyed the palace in search of Jane and the Aether. Malekith ended up finding Thor’s mother with Jane, only that Jane was an illusion created by Frigga.

Malekith tried to get her to tell him where Jane was, but she refused, and Malekith had one of his men kill her. Thor, Jane and Odin had a funereal for the queen, and every Asgardian attended.

Thor sent a soldier to Stark Towers to tell Loki of the fateful news, which broke his brother even more.

The only women in his life that cared about him were never coming back.

A couple days later Thor had a plan: they pretend to hand over Jane to Malekith, and when Malekith removed the Aether, kill him and destroy the Aether. But they needed to get to the realm where the Dark Elves lived— Svartalheim —without Odin finding out.

He explained to the Warriors Three and Sif that only Loki knew how to get there. Eventually, they grudgingly agreed to bring Loki along. Heimdall let Thor go to Earth two pick up his brother.

Tony had decided to let Loki live, believing that if he truly cared for (Y/n), being alive would be the most torture for Loki. Thor asked Tony for permission if he could take Loki. Thor promised not to let Loki die.

Thor, Jane, and Loki sat in the boat that floated in the skies above Svartalheim. Loki sat near the control for the rudder, eyeing Jane as she looked around the grunge color skies.

“What I could do with the power that flows through those veins.”

Jane looked at him and frowned, pulling the cloak around herself tighter.

“It would consume you.” Thor said turning to his brother.

“A small price to pay in the scheme of things.” Loki mused, looking around.

“To what? Try to take over Earth again?”

“To help someone I deeply care about, actually.” Loki snapped.

Jane scoffed.

“Jane, he’s telling the truth.” Thor said, turning to face her, “She had something about her that made him open up; make him kinder. If it weren’t for her Loki might not be helping us.”

“Had?” She asked.

“She’s in a coma. No one’s sure when she’ll wake up.”

Jane turned to Loki at the rudder, “I’m sorry.”

He continued to stare out at the horizon.

“It was (Y/n), right?”

Loki looked at her with confusion on his face.

“We worked together when we were searching for you.”

Loki nodded, “Thank you.”

Jane opened her mouth to comfort him more, but he stood and pointed at the horizon. The three met up with the Dark Elves and Thor did battle with Malekith, but his plan didn’t work.

Malekith still absorbed the Aether then went to Earth through a portal brought on by the Convergence of the Nine Worlds. Jane, Thor and Loki went back to Earth but Thor made a pit stop to return Loki to Tony Stark. Thor went back to England with Jane, and met up with Dr. Erik Selvig and Darcy.

They had some machines that created more portals, and they decided to use it against Malekith. It worked, and Malekith was killed and fell onto a portal.

*****

After the victory, Thor told his beloved that he had to go to Asgard to figure things out with his father. He went to Asgard and did so, then went back to Earth and spent some time with Jane before heading back to Stark Towers.

The first thing he asked was how (Y/n) was.

Clint explained to him that Tony was uber busy making (Y/n) another arm and not to be disturbed. But (Y/n) had gotten much better, and didn’t need to be on the oxygen machine and the bandages were removed from her face.

Since then she had been moved into the towers and back in her own room, continued to be on a heart monitor.

 

 

The summer was sweltering. Tony had the air conditioning cranked up all the way, and immediately two minutes after there was a city-wide power outage.

Clint partially blamed him.

Then after much complaining, Tony one day just bought a pool and placed it on the roof. That’s where they were now; all in their bathing suits, up on the roof, in the pool.

All except Tony and Thor.

They were standing in the living room in their swimming trunks.

“Well why not?!”

“You know why!” Tony shouted.

“He can’t just stay in his cell, you know how hot it is!” Thor bellowed, gesturing to where Loki was down the hall.

“And what about (Y/n)? Huh?!”

“You set up fans in her room that run on generators and create their own cold air! Whereas you’re doing nothing about Loki!”

“Thor is right, sir,” Jarvis chimed in, “If he stays in his cell in this heat, he could get heat exhaustion, or heatstroke.”

Tony stayed silent at that, looking off to the side and grumbling to himself.

“It would be unintentional torture, sir.” He added.

Tony cursed then pointed at Thor with the hand he was holding his towel with, “ _Fine_. Bring him. But if he does something I don’t like, he’s _out_.”

Thor nodded, “Thank you, Tony.”

He shoved past the Asgardian and took the elevator up to the roof.

Thor sighed then crossed the room and went up the stairs and down the hall to go to his brother.

He opened the door to the room and cast a glance at his brother then punched in the password and the door to Loki’s cell slid open.

Loki stood, confused.

“We’re going to the pool. Go to your room and change.” Thor said gently, guiding his brother down the hall.

“Thank you, Thor.” Loki said, going down the hall to the rooms, but stopping in front of (Y/n)’s door. He didn’t know she was there (even though he begged Thor to tell him how she was), but the memories of her and what he did to her gave him chills, then started walking again when his brother nudged him.

He swallowed hard as he entered his room, Thor stayed out in the hall, giving him privacy. Loki quickly took off his armor and simply dumped it on the bed.

He felt like he was baking in his armor, and he was especially sensitive to the heat because he was a Jötun. His under clothes stuck to him as he peeled them off and changed into his swim trunks and a black button up shirt. He stood there, very still, as he tried to keep his tears at bay, but he couldn’t.

God, he missed her so much.

He stared at his bed, where (Y/n) used to fall asleep while talking to him. He let out a sob and smiled, remembering all the ridiculous thing they would talk about.

“Loki?” Thor asked, knocking on the door.

“Yes, yes, I’ll be out.” He said hurriedly, wiping the tears off his face, then turned back around and opened the door.

He kept his head down as he walked next to Thor, but his brother couldn’t deny noticing that his eyes were puffy and red.

“Today’s a Midgardian holiday.” Thor said, pressing the button for the elevator, “Independence Day.”

Loki nodded, looked forward and taking a deep breath, “That’s the one with the—” he cleared his throat— “the... ‘fireworks’?” He asked, the two of them stepping into the elevator.

“Yes.” Thor said, pressing the button to the roof. The doors closed and the elevator swiftly took them to the roof.

The doors opened and Loki blinked in the bright sunlight.

It had been months since he last saw the sun.

He followed Thor to where the large pool was, next to it was a big table with snacks and drinks. Loki awkwardly followed his brother to the pool and unbuttoned his shirt, dropping it next to Thor’s clothes.

“Come on, Tony! Can’t you fix this? The water’s gonna start boiling.” Clint said, looking over at Tony, who was messing with a giant plastic container that controlled the water temperature with Bruce.

Loki climbed up the ladder and lowered himself into the pool water, sighing happily.

Being locked up and hot for the past couple days made this feel like Valhalla. He quickly looked over everyone and Pepper met his gaze, then gave him a small smile.

He nodded and didn’t make eye contact or talk with the Avengers, he just stayed next to Thor and looked out at the skyline.

Pepper swam over to his other side and engaged in small chit-chat with him, which was hard considering that all of his time was being locked in a cell, so they didn’t have much to talk about.

“Y’know, I’m starting to think that you’re a cannibal and you’re just trying to boil us to eat us.” Clint complained again.

“Then why don’t you try to figure this out!” Tony said in an outburst, the heat starting to get to him.

Clint slowly turned to face everyone else in the pool and slowly sunk into the water up to his eyes, making Natasha roll hers.

Bruce abandoned his science bro and went to the snack table and grabbed two iced waters; one for himself and the other for Tony. Tony thanked him then went back to fixing the water temperature.

“Hey, Loki.” Clint said, looking at him from across the pool, “Aren’t you a Frost Giant? Can you make the water cold?” Loki sighed. His arm lay on the edge of the pool and he bent it at the elbow, resting his chin on his fist as he closed his eyes. Starting from the center of his chest, the color blue spread out across his skin, along with swirls and tribal marks. Instantly, the water dropped thirty degrees and everyone smiled and thanked him.

“Looks like we can save fixing that for later.” Bruce said, taking off his shirt and getting into the pool.

Tony grumbled.

“Wow. This... this is amazing.” Bruce said, taking in the coolness of the water. He swam towards Loki, who looked at him hesitantly with his Jötun red eyes.

“Can you do anything else? Being a Frost Giant?” He asked, genuinely interested.

“Not that I know of. Just... freezing things.” Loki said.

“And those markings, what do they mean?” Bruce asked, gesturing to his face and arms. “I do not know. This one,” Loki traced his fingers to the half circle on his forehead, then lowered his arm, “I suppose means royalty. My biological father, Laufey, was the King of Jötunheim.”

“Was?”

“I killed him.” He said coolly, and Bruce hesitantly nodded.

“He wanted to take the throne from Odin. At first I helped him, then killed him to show Odin that I was a worthy son, too.” Loki explained, looking at Thor, who was talking to Clint and Steve.

“But Laufey always had plans to take the throne, even before I intervened.” He ended quietly.

“Like father like son then, huh?” Tony said, splashing into the pool.

“Tony...” Pepper warned.

Loki gritted his teeth and looked away from Tony. There weren’t any more snarky comments from Tony, and everyone at least once talked to Loki, except Tony, of course.

They all stayed in the pool until the sun dipped low to the horizon, and everyone gradually decided to leave the pool.

“No, no, wait! You gotta see the fireworks display.” Tony said as Natasha and Bruce started for the elevator.

Everyone sighed and sat down on the beach chairs with their towels wrapped around themselves, and stared up at the sky. For a moment, no one could help watching Loki as his blue skin drained away from his face, neck, and arms to bring back his normal colors.

Then everyone’s eyes were yanked up into the deep blue sky as the first firework went off in a shower of pink and white. Everyone ‘ooooh’ed and ‘aahhh’ed at the fire in the sky.

Soon, the displays were getting bigger and bigger and everyone knew that the show was almost over.

“Keep watching, keep watching.” Tony said, standing up.

“Three... two... one!” He spread his arms out to the sky, and on cue a large firework burst into the sky, spelling ‘Avengers’.

Everyone on the roof clapped, and as that firework faded, six more exploded one after another: a white hammer in the shape of Mjölnir, a green fist (which Bruce chuckled at), a red hourglass, a purple arrow, Steve’s shield, and then the name Stark to the third power in red.

When Pepper saw that, she smiled and gave Tony a sweet kiss.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And guess who saw Captain America: Civil War??? This girl right here! It was EPIC. I won't spoil anything, but T'Challa was majestic, Peter and Scott were HILIARIOUS! 
> 
> Three notes about this fic: 
> 
> 1) I'm not sure if I will entirely include Doctor Strange in the future.
> 
>  
> 
> 2) I hope you like crossovers with other fandoms!
> 
> and 
> 
> 3) This fic is going out there. VERY out there. ;)


	23. Something Old

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait (if it is a long wait for you guys, I'm having trouble with time and interpretating at at the moment, so it didn't feel like a week since I last posted) BUT ANYWAYS. Chapter 23. A character a lot of you people like will be in this chapter! 
> 
> And there IS spoilers for Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War. I placed an asterisk (*) to mark the beginning and the end of spoilers in this, so if you haven't seen either of those movies, be cautious! And the note at the bottom of this fic will be about Civil War, but it's just mainly a note about it. <3 <3

 

Months added up to a year. A year (Y/n) had been in a coma. A total of almost three years since Loki was first sent down to Earth. No one could take ~~~~it, especially Tony. He had designed an arm in silver, but was still struggling on how (Y/n) would use it. Through her nerves, yes, but he didn’t have the right information on how to hook it up, and that made Tony very mad. Even Bruce wasn’t sure on how it would work.

 

**_**_ **

More months rolled by, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was being infiltrated by Hydra.

Steve and Natasha had been called in by Nick Fury to see if he could help. Even though they had quit S.H.I.E.L.D. (they liked that when they did it was before all this nonsense) they were still somewhat loyal to Nick Fury. When Nat and Steve arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D., they were attacked by someone called the Winter Soldier. Steve and him had eventually met up and fought.

Steve found out that the Winter Soldier was his best friend before the War, Bucky Barnes.

After much hiding, Steve, Natasha and Nick Fury came out and, with a new ally, Sam Wilson, helped destroy S.H.I.E.L.D..

**_**_ **

After that happened, Tony decided to move upstate and rebuild a warehouse his father had owned into a new base for the Avengers in upstate New York, and Loki’s cell would now be a bare room. He sold the plot where Stark Towers used to be to some insurance company with a cartoon dog on it.

 

 

By now— after much pleading and bargaining with Thor —Tony had slacked up on Loki’s imprisonment. He gave him furniture: a bed, a table, a dresser, and a few books.

That was it.

Tony didn’t care what Daredevil had said, he didn’t care how many times Jarvis had reported that Loki would get mental problems because of solitary confinement, or that he wasn’t getting enough sleep. Most of Tony’s attention was on making his niece a new arm, and to him, that was all that mattered.

   But Jarvis didn’t see it as Tony saw it— yes, (Y/n) had been hurt at the hands of Loki. Yes, Loki deserved a world of hurt, but Jarvis knew he was still a sentient creature, and they need to be social.

So, sometimes without Tony knowing, Jarvis would spend a few minutes engaging in conversations with Loki. Jarvis would even meet some of Loki’s requests; like playing whatever old video content there was with him and (Y/n) by displaying it on the wall, or asking what was going on with Tony’s work. And sometimes, Jarvis would play riddles with Loki to keep his mind sharp.

 

 

One day, Steve and Sam Wilson had gone out in the early morning for their usual run. At the new Avengers H.Q., the new Avengers did their thing; Natasha and Clint were training together; Thor talked on the phone with Jane; Bruce and Tony continued working on the arm for (Y/n).

Basically, they just waited until an agent told them about a mission. 

Steve and Sam ran down the one-way road to where Sam’s car was parked out of sight from the Avengers H.Q.. Sam got into the drivers seat as Steve got in the passenger seat. Sam started the car and pulled down the long driveway.

They drove to Antwerp, where a friend was waiting. Steve had only confided in Sam and Natasha about who they were meeting the first time they met.

When the two arrived in the small town, they went to the small blue house to where Steve’s friend was renting a room. Steve knocked on the front door. A few seconds passed before the door opened and the friendly face of Ms. Henderson appeared, “Hello Steve, Sam. Come in.” She made room got the two men to enter the living room.

“Is he here?” Steve asked, looking around before settling his eyes on the woman.

“Yes, he’s up in his room at the moment.”

“Thanks.” Sam said with a nod, then went up the stairs behind his friend. They turned right at the top of the steps and knocked on the first door.

“Come in.”

Steve pushed the door open to see his friend getting up from the bed. “Hey, Buck.”

The man with black hair stood and embraced his long time friend in a hug. After the events with Hydra infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. and rescuing The Winter Soldier a.k.a. Bucky Barnes from the river, Steve had brought him to a barn nearby and helped him regain his memories over the course of a few weeks.

Steve, Sam, and Natasha had decided it was now time to introduce him to the rest of the Avengers.

When Steve and Bucky let go, the latter looked at the doorway, “Natasha isn’t here?” He asked with a smirk on his face.

“You keep flirting with her she’s gonna knock you into next week.” Sam chuckled.

“So,” Steve cleared his throat, “I was thinking, enough time has passed since we first... Met in D.C., and you’re back to normal...”

Bucky raised an eyebrow as he sat on the edge of his desk and grabbed a hair tie and tied some of his hair back.

“I was thinking that maybe it’s time to introduce you to the rest of the Avengers.”

Bucky crossed his arms and thought.

******

“So we aren’t hiding any secrets from them.” Steve added.

Bucky stared at his boots, unsure. He had done a lot of bad during his time being captured by Hydra. He had been the one sent out to kill Howard and Maria Stark, and many other innocents.

He knew Steve would never tell anyone what he had done as The Winter Soldier, but he would still feel guilty if he were around the Stark’s kid.

******

“Bucky, if you think they’ll think bad about you, they won’t. You served beside me in the War. What you did between now and then doesn’t define you.”

“But it does make me who I am today, doesn’t it?” He asked, meeting Steve’s eyes.

“It doesn’t make you bad. You were brainwashed.”

Bucky huffed.

Steve didn’t understand why he was putting up a fight to meet the Avengers.

“Just meet them one time, Buck. That’s all I’m asking.” He pleaded.

Bucky got off his desk and approached his friend, holding his gaze firm. Then he wrapped his metal arm around Steve’s neck and gave him a noogie with his other hand. Steve laughed and his friend released him.

“Alright. One time.” He said with a small smile.

“Thanks.” Bucky got his sweater on then put a glove on his left hand. The trio left the room and went down the stairs.

Ms. Henderson offered them some lemonade, which the men politely declined to. They walked down the front porch and entered Sam’s car, Bucky entering the back seat. He laid down in the back and pulled out his iPod from his sweater pocket and put his earbuds in and listened to his music.

Recently he found out that music would keep him calm, especially music from his time. He closed his eyes and let the music and the car bumping along the road soothe his nerves.

A few hours later the car stopped and Bucky sat up, pulling out his earbuds. He looked out the window and saw the white building with the letter ‘A’ on the side.

The three men got out of the car and walked across the grass. Bucky took in the area out of old habit, planning out any possible escape routes if need be. When they got up to the front door, Steve punched in a passcode and pushed the door open.

“Welcome back, Steve.” Jarvis said as Steve ushered in his friends.

“Hey, Jarvis. Can you tell everyone to meet up in the living room?”

“Of course.”

“What the hell was that?” Bucky asked in a whisper, following his buddy to the white couch.

“It’s called Jarvis. It’s an artificial intelligence, like a robot.” Steve explained.

The first one in the living room was Clint, who shook hands with Sam as Steve stood.

Clint then shook hands with Bucky hesitantly, “Hey... I don’t know you.”

“I’m James Buchanan Barns. But you can call me Bucky.” He said.

“I’m Clint.” Bucky nodded then let go of his hand.

Next in the room was Natasha and Bruce. Bucky nodded to Nat, but she just rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen area and opened the fridge.

“Who’s this?” Bruce asked, taking off his glasses and putting them in his shirt pocket.

“This us my friend, Bucky. We served in World War two together.” Steve explained.

“Then how is he so... young?”

“Well I was hoping to wait until everyone was here to say that.”

Just then Thor landed outside with a thud, and everyone watched him as he pushed open the sliding glass door, his red cape billowing behind him.

Bucky and Thor introduced themselves.

“I don’t think Tony will come down, but if he does he’ll come down later.” Bruce said, his eyes hesitantly landing on Bucky.

Steve nodded. “So I guess we’re all here then.” He paused.

“As I already said, Bucky and I served together in the War. One of our missions was to take out a Hydra camp. We got on a train and we started taking out some Hydra members. One had blasted a hold in the side of the train and Bucky fell out. We were on the side of a mountain, I thought he had fallen to his death... But he didn’t.”

“I lost my arm in the fall.” Bucky said, taking off his glove to show his metallic hand.

Bruce’s eyes widened.

“Then... Then Hydra found me.” Bucky said, guilt laced in his voice. He explained his story about being The Winter Soldier.

“Well,” Clint said after hearing the things Bucky said, “no one in this room is exactly perfect, right?” He placed his hand on his shoulder.

Steve gave Bucky a supporting smile.

“Right.” “I’ll... I’ll be right back.” Bruce said, then practically ran out of the room. A silence descended on the four men and the one woman who had rejoined them, holding an apple.

Clint removed his hand from Bucky’s shoulder and asked, “Wanna play pool?”

“Why not?” Bucky said, relieved.

Clint lead them down the hall Bruce went down, then almost crashed into Tony and Dr. Banner.

“Tony?” Clint asked, concerned.

“Bruce told me everything.” He said, looking at Bucky. “You really have a cybernetic arm?”

“Yes...?”

“Can I see?”

Bucky looked to Steve, confused.

He just shrugged.

Bucky took off his sweater and held it in his right hand.

Tony let out an audible gasp, “Who made this?”

“Hydra.”

Tony turned to Bruce, “You think it’ll work?”

“Best thing we’ve seen or come up with.” He said, crossing his arms and swaying side to side gently.

“You sir, are the best thing that happened to me in a _long_ time. Come on, I’ll explain.” Tony said, putting an arm around Bucky’s shoulder.

Tony guided him down the hall to the elevator.

“So listen. My niece got into an accident a year ago.” Tony pressed the button to go to the fourth floor, which was more like the sixth floor due to the high ceilings, but it went up quickly and the pair stepped out.

“She went into a coma, and still is...” Tony said, pushing open the third door on the right, where (Y/n) was.

“And she had to have her arm amputated.” Bucky looked at the young woman on the white bed in the bare room.

She had (color) hair that was cut to her shoulders, and a few thin scars on her face.

“I don’t follow...” Bucky said, turning to the billionaire.

“I’ve been trying ever since she went into her coma to make a replacement arm for her, but nothing worked. And you stumble right onto my lap, I’m gonna take advantage of this moment. Will you help me? Will you let me study your arm to help me make my baby girl one?”

Bucky didn’t answer right away and he looked down at the woman on the bed.

Tony quickly added, “I’ll pay you. Pick any number.”

“No, no, you don’t have to pay me.” He said, shaking his head.

“So you’ll do it?”

“... Yes.” Tony seized his hand and shook it firmly, “Thank you so much...?”

“Bucky.”

“Bucky. You need _any_ favor, I’m there to do it. I’m Tony Stark.” He grinned, and Bucky’s face paled.

“N-no problem.”

“Alright.” Tony clapped his hands,

“Let’s get started.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, another fic posted! Thanks for all the love and nice comments and kudos, you guys; they all make me smile.
> 
> So about Civil War. When I wrote this, this was WAY before Civil War came out, and at the time it was only headcannon that Bucky killed you-know-who (no not Voldemort) on the way to you-know-where, and I thought 'hey, lemme write this because it could be true!'. And now it's cannon, and it broke my heart watching you-know-who finding out. :(((


	24. Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here's chapter 24! Also, if you wanted to check out my Loki fanvid I made (feels inducing and spoilers for Thor: The Dark World) --> https://youtu.be/Y_H5BN7AFAM

 

Bruce and Tony spent weeks studying Bucky’s arm. He had since then moved in, right next to Steve’s room. He even let them open his arm up to take a peek inside, which helped them a _lot_. But deep down Tony knew none of this would matter if (Y/n) didn’t wake up soon.

“Also, I was wondering if you’d help her with her physical therapy?” Tony asked, looking from the wiring in Bucky’s hand and comparing it to the silver one he made for his niece.

“Sure.”

Bruce and Bucky met each other’s gaze quickly. It was a year and a half that (Y/n) had been in a coma. Bruce had told everyone that he was worried about Tony’s mental state, that he would live his life blind to the truth.

On top of that, he couldn’t sleep at night without his PTSD nightmares waking him up, then when that happened, he would work until he passed out from exhaustion.

Once Tony finished checking the wires he closed the fingers and rubbed his hands together, saying, “Let’s try this bad boy out.” He picked up some electrodes that sprouted from the shoulder of the arm and attached then to various places on his head. He concentrated on the silver arm on the table. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the fingers began to move.

Tony grinned.

He tried again, making the hand form the symbol for rock and roll. Bruce chuckled as he looked down to catalogue it down. Tony made the thumb touch each finger in order, then back again.

“Hey, Jarvis. Tell Clint to come down here. And to bring a couple of plates, bowls, spoons, forks, what have you.”

“Of course, sir.” The AI responded.

Tony grabbed the sling he had on the table and attached it to the shoulder part of the arm and put it around his neck so the silver arm would be where his right one was. He tested out moving the arm up and down, “It doesn’t seem to be overheating.”

He muttered. He tested out practically every position an arm could do when Clint entered, his arms full of various dishes.

“Where do you want this?” He asked, looking around the lab.

“Right there’s fine.” Bruce said, gesturing to the table the arm had been on.

With a lot of clattering, he managed to put the ceramic items on the table. “I see it’s working well.” Clint said, crossing his arms and watching Tony pick up a fork.

“Hey, look.” Tony turned to Clint and passed the fork to his real hand, then gave him the middle finger, to which Tony started laughing.

Clint turned his back and started to leave, “Very mature, Tony.”

“C’mon, I thought you liked birds!” He shouted, laughing. Tony chuckled, picking up a plate with the robotic arm.

“I gotta hand it to Hydra... They’re evil as all hell, but they sure do have geniuses.”

Bucky nodded awkwardly, not exactly sure how to take that.

“Now all we need is for (Y/n) to wake up and test this bad boy out.”

Bruce gritted his teeth.

He hated how casual Tony was talking about this; acting as if (Y/n) had only taken a nap.

“Tony, you know she’s in a coma.”

“Yes. I remember.” He said darkly, “Doesn’t mean I can’t hope.”

“We know.” Bruce said, standing, “We’re all hoping she’ll wake up, but look at the doctors’ notes. Remember the state she was in? What happened was... appalling. How she was left? You don’t just pop back from that in a year.”

“But it’s been a _year_. She’ll be twenty-five in two weeks, Bruce. She’s missing a lot of things— and I know it sounds like, I’m blaming her, I’m not but...” He tossed the fork back onto the table with a irritated sigh, “why won’t she wake up?”

 

 

A few days passed, and the prothstetic arm was nearly complete. All Tony had to do was to put on some finishing touches; polish, and even put a bold red symbol for the Avengers on the shoulder. Tony picked up the silver arm and carried it in one arm as he strode to the elevator, planning on going up to his nieces room.

He peered down the hall on the other side of the elevator and heard chatter and laughter, and decided to show his teammates the work he finished. He went down the hall and into the game-room where everyone was.

Tony smiled at the view in front of him: Natasha, Steve, Thor, and Bruce were sitting on the couch playing Mario Kart while the others were cheering them on.

“Hey, Rapunzel? If you lose again try not to break the remote. Again.” Tony said, walking up to the back of the couch.

“It’s that... they... are... cheating...” Thor groaned, trying to get Princess Peach out from behind a tree.

“We’re not cheating.” Natasha said, easily guiding Mario up a ramp that had a booster.

Steve gave a glanced at Tony watching them, then paused the game.

Thor and Natasha protested for a second, but then followed Steve’s gaze to what Tony was holding.

He looked down at his arms, “Oh, yeah. Just finished it, neat, right?”

“ ‘Neat’?” Clint, going around the couch to get a better look.

“I’m very tired.” Tony explained.

Bucky moved beside the billionaire and hesitantly touched the metallic fingers with his real ones, before pulling them back and looking at the ‘A’ symbol on the shoulder.

“You like it?” Tony asked. He hoped that the man he based the arm off would give him his blessings, but he didn’t know why he needed any blessings; he’s Tony Stark.

Bucky smiled a little, his eyes tracing up and down the arm, “Yeah. It’s great, Tony. She’s going to love it.”

Tony grinned then said, “Thanks. I’m just gonna take it up to my room, take a quick siesta, then maybe play a round against you guys.” He nodded to the WII set.

“’Kay. I’ll play next round, too.” Clint said, turning his attention back to the floor-to-ceiling tv screen. Tony rolled his eyes then left the room, going back down the hall and entering the elevator and going up to the floor that his and his nieces’ rooms were. He decided against bringing the arm to (Y/n)’s room, feeling better if it were in his.

The doors opened and he walked down the hall, proud of himself. He opened the door to his niece’s room, checking on her. He stood there for a minute, then left the room and shut the door behind him.

He went into the room right across from (Y/n)’s, his and Pepper’s room, and closed the door. With a sigh, he placed the metallic arm on the dresser by the bed along with his communication device in his ear, then collapsed onto the bed with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling.

He lifted his arm and looked at the watch on his wrist; the time read that it was ten minutes to six P.M.

 _Just an hour_ , he thought to himself, lowering his arm, as if his body would wake up on command at that time. He closed his eyes.

He would sleep a lot better if Pepper with him, but at the moment she was in a California for this partnership... or something. Something about getting more founders for Stark Company.

He sighed again. He just needed to stop thinking, just for one minute, just to relax. Just as he was thinking that, his mind fell out of consciousness.

 

 

_Tony was still working on the arm for his niece with Thor rushed in. “Tony,” he looked up from his work table, “she’s awake.” Tony practically fell off his stool and scrambled for the door then ran at full speed up the stairs that spiraled next to the elevator and went up every other step._

_He pushed open the door at the top of the stairs and ran into his nieces room. There you were, sitting up, awake, alive._

_“Tony!” You said, and he rushed to you, pulling you into a tight hug, planting kisses all over your face._

_“I missed you so much.” He cried._

_You wrapped your arms around him, getting choked up as well, “I missed you too.”_

_Tony sat there, you in his arms, crying._

_“I’m never going to let anything bad happen you you, I swear on my life.” He sobbed, pulling away from you and looking in your eyes._

_“Tony, you can’t. We’re heroes, you can’t make a promise like that. You’ll only hurt yourself.” You said._

_“I’m Tony Stark, I can do whatever the hell I want.” He said firmly._

_“Anyways,” he cleared his throat then cupped the side of your face with the palm of his hand, “how do you feel, baby girl?”_

_You shrugged, “Tired, believe it or not. A bit foggy aaand the the hell is wrong with my a—?” You looked down at your side._

_You didn’t have an arm._

_“We had to amputate... there wasn’t anything the doctors could do.”_

_You nodded hesitantly, swallowing. “This feels so weird... I feel like I still have it.”_

_“Phantom limb.” Tony explained. “But I’m currently working on making a new arm for you.”_

_You smiled, “Thank you.” “No need to thank me, it was Pepper’s idea. And common sense.”_

_You nodded, chuckling. “How long was I asleep?” You asked._

_“A year and a half.”_

_You gasped shakily. You rubbed your face with your left hand, the tears escaping. “My god.” You whispered._

_Tony rubbed your back. “And, um... why was I in a coma?”_

_Tony stopped and looked at you, “You don’t remember?” You shook your head, “The last thing I remember was all of us in Stark Towers watching Sherlock, then now I’m in a hospital with my right arm gone.”_

_“Baby, you’re not in the hospital, we’re in our new headquarters in upstate New York. Also we left S.H.I.E.L.D.. But I wanted to keep the room simple, so then you could do whatever you want with it.”_

_You nodded, running your hand through your short hair. “Okay,” you said, taking in a shaky breath. “This is a lot to take in at the moment.”_

_Tony nodded then said quietly, “Okay, we’ll take things slow.”_

_You swallowed, nodding._

_“You must be hungry. What do you want?”_

_“N-nothing at the moment. I feel like I’m going to throw up, actually.” You said, trying to climb out of bed._

_Tony quickly went to your other side and helped you stand. You winced painfully, then shook your head and sat back on the bed._

_“It hurts.” You said, trying to ignore the intense pins and needles._

_“Let me.” Tony said, picking you up, bridal style, and carrying you to the bathroom. The lights automatically turned on as the two of you entered the room. Your uncle gently set you on the floor._

_You ran your hand up and down your legs, then stopped when you couldn’t take the pain._

_You groaned and clenched your hand, resting your head on the edge of the toilet seat. Tony grabbed a hand towel and turned on the sunk faucet into the coldest it could get. You lifted the toilet seat with your hand, which was trembling terribly and caused the lid to fall down with a bang._

 

 

Tony sat up, startled from the loud boom. He quickly got out of bed and put the comms back in his ear.

“What the hell was that?” He asked, grabbing the metal arm and putting it in his closet, then slamming the door shut.

“Don’t know. We’re checking out out.” Natasha said.

“Send Clint up to watch over (Y/n), I’m heading down now.” Tony said, bolting out the room and going down the spiral stairs. He and the archer almost crashed on the steps, and Tony said a quick thanks to him as they passed.

He went down to the lab in the basement and quickly punched in the passcode.

The doors slid open and he summoned his suit, all of the pieces flying and attaching themselves to Tony and locking together in synchronicity. A trap door opened above him and he activated the rocket boosters and soared into the sunny sky, looking down to survey the large backyard.

“Um... what the hell?” Tony asked, completely confused. He slowly lowered himself down, but staying above everyone else’s heads, keeping a watchful —a certainly confused, but watchful— eye on the smoldering crater and the large object inside.

“What is that?” Thor asked, readjusting his grip on Mjölnir.

“What’s the situation, guys?” Clint asked, completely on guard but concerned.

“Um... it’s...” Steve went foreword a little, Bucky right at his side.

“It’s a... big, blue, British, police call box.” Bruce said, not believing his eyes, “And it fell from the sky.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cue Doctor Who theme song! I told you we were going OUT THERE :)
> 
> I posted this chapter way earlier than I wanted to, but I have a few more chapters written and ready to be posted, but at the moment I have writers block :// So I bring up ages in this (at this point you're 25) so here's a timeline:
> 
> In the beginning you were 22. 
> 
> After the wedding a few months later when you go appear in Russia, you're 23.
> 
> A year passes when you're looking for Loki, 24.
> 
> Then now when you're in a coma you're 25 :)


	25. Stolen Box

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry for not posting in a while, I've been getting pushed back.
> 
> And, it has been brought to my attention, that I should have realised that some people don't necessarily like crossovers. But it's only brief in this chapter and the next one, but I hope you don't get too turned-off <3 <3

 

“Where’d it come from?” Steve asked, looking up at the sky, then the box that lay on it’s side, the doors facing upwards.

There was a loud creaking sound and everyone either got their weapons ready, or put their defenses up.

The blue doors swung open inward and white smoke billowed out. From inside they could see a golden light trying to force it’s way through the thick smoke.

They all saw the shadow of a large object slowly levitating out.

Tony got the blasters in his hands ready as he turned on the recorder in his helmet.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the creature —no, _robot_ , that was now hovering over the blue box. It was shaped like a salt and pepper shaker with half spheres around it’s body, and something resembling a plunger for a face.

“We have done iiit!” It shrieked, waving the spoon and whisk like objects that was it’s arms, then another of it’s kind came out of the blue box, and Tony briefly wondered how those things fit into such a small box.

“The Tardis is ouuurs!” The second one said.

Then, realizing it had an audience said, “Bow before the Daleks!”

“Daleks?” Bucky asked.

“You will be enslaved by the Daleks!”

Tony sighed, then finally shot the both out of the air and they flew backwards, screeching and falling to the ground with a small explosion.

The blue doors promptly shut as Tony landed on the ground.

“Situation’s been handled.” He said to Clint over the comms, “But stay put until I say otherwise.”

“Okay.”

Everyone watched as Thor walked up to the crater then slowly circled the big blue box.

“How did those things even fit in there?” Natasha asked.

“Dunno. Maybe a hole in the ground? Buried there for a long time?” Bucky asked.

Tony took to the air again and flew over to where the thing called ‘Tardis’ was. He grabbed the edge of the box that was in the ground and easily pulled it out, then pushed it onto it’s proper side so that it would be standing up.

Bruce walked up to it and read the sticker on the left side of the door. “So... those robots —possibly aliens—”

“I have never encountered such a creature in my life. Maybe Loki has?” Thor suggested.

“Maybe. Ask him after we bring this in.” Tony said, grabbing the edge of the blue box again and started to slowly bring it inside the house, and everyone followed.

“... and stole a nineteen-sixties style, London police call box called ‘Tardis’.” Bruce finished.

Tony set the Tardis on the white floor with a thud that echoed, then landed as well. And, as if responding to Bruce, the light on top of the Tardis pulsed for a quick moment, then turned off again. But nobody noticed that, as all their eyes were watching Thor grab the handle and try to push the door open, but when it didn’t, he started running at it and slamming his shoulder into the door, all in failed attempts.

“I’m gonna run some tests on it... Try not to talk about anything sensitive around it, in case it’s bugged.” Bruce said, going down the stairs by the elevator, heading to the lab.

Thor nodded then cast a glance at his friends, then went and followed Bruce down the steps.

“Those creatures, the Daleks, they acted like the Tardis is something special.” Thor said.

“Well maybe it is,” Bruce suggested, “a source of power? The way they said it was _now_ theirs, then to bow before them... it might be _very_ powerful. See what you can find out from Loki.” He said, stepping down to the landing and tapping in the pass code to the lab, and the glass door slid open.

Thor nodded, then continued down another flight of spiral stairs to another landing with a completely see-through wall, showing the simple furniture and books in Loki’s room.

His prison was deep underground, so that now no one had to keep an eye on him. The man in the room was standing, wringing his hands nervously with an anxious look on his face.

“What happened? I heard an explosion, is everyone alright?” He asked, watching his adoptive brother punch in the pass code.

A green light flashed, and Thor entered the room, then closed the door. He could easily ask whatever he wanted from outside the room, but he didn’t want to (pardon the pun) alienate his brother for much longer.

“We’re all fine. A big—”

“And (Y/n)? How is she?” He asked, his emerald eyes big and pleading.

That was the only thing Jarvis would not tell him: how (Y/n) was.

Thor sighed heavily, “She is as she has been. Something crashed in the yard. Something called a ‘Tardis’ and creatures called ‘Daleks’ were piloting it. Do you know what those were?”

Loki cast his eyes elsewhere and frowned, thinking. “No.” He concluded, meeting his brother’s eyes.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Thor nodded, “Thank you.” He turned to leave and Jarvis automatically opened the door, then shut it when Thor left. Loki watched his brother go up the stairs, without looking back.

“Thor?” He called out, and the blonde man came back down.

“Yes?”

Loki opened his mouth, then shut it.

He wanted to say something; something that would make Thor trust him. Make everyone trust him.

But what could he say?

When he didn’t speak, Thor went back up the stairs. When he was sure his brother was out of earshot, Loki turned and roughly kicked his chair, letting out a frustrating cry.

 

 

Bruce slowly walked around the Tardis, watching the needle in the scanner stay near the harmless. “This is... wow.”

“What?” Bucky asked, getting up from the couch. He stood next to Bruce, looking from the scanner to the big blue box.

“It’s giving off some of electromagnetic energy.”

Bucky looked at him slightly confused.

“X-rays, ultra-violet waves, gamma rays—”

“So should we be slightly worried?” Clint asked.

“I don’t know. It seems to be contained. If I stand here...” Bruce took a step back, not even two feet away, “it’s harmless. But if I stand here...” He pressed the scanner flush with the blue wall, and the needle jumped up to the red side, “all the radiation is here. And I have to admit... if I stayed really close to it, I’d probably get a little antsy myself.”

Bruce moved to the front of the blue box, looking it up and down, then tried the door again. “But how those things fit in there... it’s impossible.” He let go of the door handle and took a few steps back.

“We can probably think better with a full stomach.” Clint suggested, standing up.

“Maybe Chinese food?” Natasha suggested. She uncrossed her arms and stood, running her hand down the blue wood of the Tardis, and she felt, somewhere deep down, however irrational, that the Tardis liked being stroked.

She took a few steps back, unsure about this feeling she was getting from it. She looked over to Bruce when he stepped next to her.

“The readings I were getting... Some of those rays came from space. Unless there’s metal underneath this wood, it wouldn’t stand a chance out there.” Bruce shook his head and muttered, “None of this makes any sense.”

“Nat, you gonna get your usual?” Tony asked, covering his cell phone.

“Yeah.” She said, going to sit down next to Bucky.

Tony told the order back to the person on the phone, then soon after, hung up.

About thirty minutes later Steve went out into the city and picked it up, then quickly came back on his motorcycle, setting the two large brown paper backs on the coffee table and handing each person their order that came in a tin foil container. Steve gave Thor his eight containers —two stacks of four, which he carried under his arm, and two water bottles balancing precariously on top— and grabbed two metal forks, then smiled at Steve and headed for the stairs.

Thor went down the stairs and entered Loki’s cell again, placing the containers and water on his small table and handing the fork to his brother, then sat on the floor, since there was only one chair.

Loki thanked him and joined him on the floor then they both started eating their food. After eating for a few minutes in silence, Loki broke it by looking up from his second container and saying, “Thor?”

“Yes?” His brother took a swig of water.

“How do I redeem myself?” He asked.

That wasn’t what Thor was expecting him to ask.

Thor sighed, “I don’t know. Tony will never give you a chance to.” He paused, “I wish you could.”

“I wish many things.” Loki said, playing with his rice for a moment before shoveling it into his mouth with his fork. They didn’t talk for a few more minutes.

“How are your nightmares?” Thor asked with a mouthful.

Loki shrugged, “They’re fine.”

Thor severely doubted it.

“How come the castle guards haven’t come to take me?”

“Because I haven’t told them to come get you. And luckily for you, neither did Heimdall. After what you did to father, chaining him in a cave with a snake, he will have your head. It took me much persuading, to make him let you stay here.” Thor explained, leaving out the part where Odin never wanted to see Loki’s “treacherous blue face” again, or if he, the King of Asgard, did, he would slaughter Loki here he stood.

Loki swallowed and nodded, then said, “Thank you, Thor. You do so much for me, some of which I still do not know, but I thank you. Without you, I could be rotting in the lowest and filthiest levels of prison in Asgard, where I know I belong, but I’m not. Because of you, brother.”

Thor gave him a small smile, “I am a believer of second chances.”

“More like fifth chances.” Loki scoffed.

“Either that or I’m incredibly gullible.” The blond man chuckled, which made Loki smile.

They finished eating in silence, and Thor collected the garbage then stood.

“I’ll see you soon, brother.” Thor said as Jarvis slid open the door.

“I’ll be here.” Loki responded dully.

Thor left the room and the door closed. He climbed up the stairs and entered the now clean living area.

Dusk and a slight fog were settling outside as Thor walked over to the garbage bin, opened it by pressing a lever with his foot and tossing the containers out.

“Everyone has retired to their rooms for the night.” Jarvis said, as Thor let the lid slam shut.

“Thank you.” Thor said, then went back and took the elevator up to the rooms. The doors opened and he strode down to his room. He entered and shut the door behind him, his mind wandering.

He wished he could do something for his brother; he did notice that he was a little more tired than usual, probably due to his nightmares. Loki had told him about his nightmares only once, and it was disturbing.

Yes, tomorrow, Thor decided, he would talk to his brother more often, to keep him sane. And before he knew it, he was in his bed, dressed in sweatpants, falling asleep.

 

 

Tony woke with a start. He thought he heard Jarvis saying something about an intruder, but he knew the lights would be flashing if there was one. He relaxed, looking down at Pepper; she had one leg thrown over Tony’s and her arm draped over his chest.

But still, he had a nagging feeling in his stomach that he should go check out downstairs.

He carefully and slowly slipped out from under Pepper and misjudged how close he was to the edge of the bed, and fell off with a hard thud, but quickly popped back up to make sure Pepper was still sleeping.

She was.

Tony let out a breath of relief then stood. He grabbed his watch from the bedside table and strapped it on as he quietly left the room, shutting the door behind.

The watch read that it was three A.M.

He swiped left on it and walked down the white hall and said, “Jarvis, can you get me some cameras on in the living room?”

Jarvis didn’t respond.

“Jarvis?” He asked, going down the stairs. He stopped almost at the bottom, hearing voices.

“Be quiet!” A woman’s voice hissed, “They will hear you and wake up!”

“If they do, can I fight them?” Asked a deep voice belonging to a man.

“Yeah, sure.” Said another man with a happy voice. His tone wasn’t happy, in fact he sounded bored. It was just that his voice had a certain... happiness to it.

“Okay, okay, on the count of three, lift.” Said another voice, belonging to yet another male.

“One,”

Tony took the last two steps to the floor, then felt around for the light-switch, “three!”

Tony took his cue and flicked on the light, and everyone turned to face him. Tony stared dumbly at his intruders.

“Um...” Was all he was able to say.

There were five of them.

“This isn’t what it looks like.” Said the man with the happy voice. He came in front of his group, his arms spread, the sign of peace.

“We’re just stealing this for a friend.” The man said. He was definitely the most human of his group.

“Can I kill him?” The bulky grey man on the far right asked. He had tons upon tons of pink markings over his bare chest, arms, and face.

“Drax, be cool. We’re just coming in—”

“Breaking in.” Tony corrected absentmindedly, staring at the tree-man creature, who was letting go of the Tardis with it’s long, branch arms, and they were slowly shrinking down to match the proportion of it’s height. It smiled and waved.

“Breaking in, and taking this. Only attack him if he attacks us. Right?”

The man said, turning back to Tony.

“She’s green.”

The woman with green skin scowled.

The man in front of Tony said, “That’s Gamora. The big guy over there is Drax. This is Rocket,” he guested to the anthromorphic raccoon wearing an orange jumper. Tony was about to speak, but rocket cut him off by pointing a small finger at him and saying, “If you call me a rodent or raccoon I’ll blast you halfway across the quadrant!”

Tony shut his mouth.

“Happy little guy right?” The man with the up-beat voice said, “That’s Groot.”

The tree man waved.

“And I’m Star-Lord.”

“This is a...” Tony drifted his eyes on each one of them, looking for the right word.

The happy man, so-called Star-Lord, put his hands on his own hips, looking at Tony.

“Nifty... yeah. It’s a nifty group you got yourself here. Yeah.” The billionaire stuttered.

Star-Lord smirked and cocked his head to the side and shrugged, “Yeah. We’re the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAASSSS. Guardians of the Galaxy! Yeah, if any of you read the comments, I said to another_bucky , that the Doctor Who crossover is only to help bring in the GOTG and doesn't really have anything to do with the plot :)


	26. Maybe They Can Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for the long wait. But here's (technically) the real Chapter 26. Also, I was kindly reminded by ColonelBastard (cool name btw) that this was a reader insert, and were the filler chapters needed? Looking back, now I say "no" that the filler chapters aren't needed. So by late next chapter they should arrive at Aflheim and you shall wake up :)

 

A few minutes after that Tony offered them drinks (to which Gamora said that they should leave), but Star-Lord (who Gamora said his real name is Peter) and Rocket, he soon found out, were pretty chill guys.

He invited them to sit on the couch, and they all did (except Groot, since there was no more space, he stood).

Tony introduced himself, and at that Peter’s eyes widened.

“Tony Stark? As in the son of Howard Stark?” He asked.

Tony nodded, smiling a little.

“Wow. I didn’t know him personally, but he was a great inventor, from what I can remember.”

Tony smirked and sat on the other white couch facing them, saying, “And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” He then took a sip of his whiskey, then put it on the glass coffee table and asked about what happened to his system, and Rocket explained how he disabled Jarvis. Tony then politely asked him to bring his systems back online.

At that, Rocket leapt off the crouch and Groot walked over by the sliding glass door and Rocket jumped onto his back and crawled up to sit on his shoulder.

Tony watched Rocket fiddle around with what was a detector disguised as a thermostat. Rocket talk as he re-wired the things back the the way they were and leapt off of Groot and went to sit back on the couch.

Suddenly Jarvis spoke, “Sir, there’s a breach down —oh.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Jarvis, but I’ve got it under control.” Tony said.

“Yeah sorry ’bout that. Pretty impressive A.I., haven’t seen something like that except in the most heavily guarded prisons in the galaxy.” Rocket said, then taking a big gulf of his beer, then put it back down on the table.

“Why... why thank you.” Jarvis said, and Tony smirked; he could totally hear in Jarvis’ voice that he was blushing.

“Jarvis, you think you could wake the others up? Tell them to head downstairs — _no_ weapons. And tell them we have guests, so wear their uniforms.” Tony asked.

“Of course, sir.”

Tony stood up, take his whiskey with him and waiting by the stairs.

“What are you doing that for?” Gamora asked, standing up as well.

“You’re the Guardians of the Galaxy, we’re the Avengers ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ and all that jazz. I’m pretty sure this is a big thing, our groups meeting.”

Even Peter seemed a little hesitant and stood.

The first people down the stairs were Pepper (who was wearing formal clothes like at a meeting), Thor and Bruce. Tony blocked them from going down all the way.

“What’s going on?” Pepper asked, clearly worried. Just as she said that, Bucky and Natasha came down and halted behind Thor and Bruce.

“We have some guests. Bruce, you’re gonna _love_ it when you find out where they came from.” Tony grinned.

Steve, Clint and Sam came down the stairs.

“All here?” Tony asked, to which Steve said ‘yeah’.

True to his request given out by Jarvis, they all had put on their uniforms. “Okay, just a rundown: they’re the good guys as well; try not to stare; and whatever you do, do _not_ called the little guy a raccoon or rodent.”

Tony backed up and moved to the side, “Guardians of the Galaxy; these are the rest of the Avengers. This is Pepper Potts; CEO of Stark Industries, also my girlfriend— not part of the Avengers. This is Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard.”

“Your highness.” Gamora said, bowing her head.

“You know him?” Peter asked.

“Not... necessarily. I have heard of the royal family though.” Gamora said, recalling who exactly was in the royal family.

“Right.” Tony continued, “This is Doctor Bruce Banner, renowned physicist in Biochemistry, Nuclear Physics, and Gamma Radiation. This is Bucky Barnes, lost an arm a couple decades ago, went bad for a hot minute but now he’s on our team. This is Natasha, also known as the Black Widow; spy, assassin, and espionage are all she’s about. This is Steve Rogers, a.k.a Captain America.”

“Wow!” Peter breathed, “I used to have a poster of you when I was a kid!”

“Thanks.” Steve said with a smile.

“This is Clint; spy, assassin, espionage, excellent archer. Also likes birds. He also goes by Hawkeye.”

Clint whispered to Nat, “He called me excellent!”

“And this is Sam Wilson, a.k.a the Falcon.”

After they were all introduced, they sat down —or stood around— the couch that was facing the Guardians of the Galaxy.

“Nice to meet you all. Like Tony said, we’re the Guardians of the Galaxy. “I’m Peter Quill, a.k.a Star-Lord. This is Groot; Rocket; Gamora, and Drax.”

Then they spent the day explaining to the Avengers where they were from, and what they were doing here. Well, it would have been a day if Peter hadn’t interrupted Drax after him talking for five minutes.

“Okay! Groot is a sentient tree creature. Drax doesn’t understand metaphors and I don’t know _what_ he is. Gamora is also a trained assassin, used to served under a pretty bad guy. She’s a Zehoberei. Rocket is a criminal and can get out of any prison.” Peter placed his hands on his own leather clad chest, “And I’m a human on my mom’s side —I have no idea what my dad is— and I lived here up until I was nine when my mom died, and got kidnapped by some Ravagers —space thieves— and raised to be like one by a blue guy named Yondu.”

He took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “So that answers your questions?”

Nobody nodded.

“But _why_ did you come here?” Bucky asked.

“The man who lost the Tardis, the Doctor, asked us to bring it to him.” Drax said.

“The Doctor?” Pepper asked.

“But that’s not his real name. No one knows what it is.” Rocket said.

“Why couldn’t he get it himself?” Clint asked.

“He’s stuck on another planet.” Gamora said, then turned to her teammates and said firmly, “Which is _why_ we should start leaving if we want to get our _money_.”

“Right!” Rocket shouted, getting up and saying, “Groot!”

Everyone on both teams stood as Groot moved over to the Tardis and started stretching is branch arms around the middle in a secure grip, then lifted it off the ground.

“When it crashed yesterday, these two large hovering things came out of it.” Sam said, watching Rocket open the sliding doors as far as they could, and Groot taking the Tardis outside.

“Yeah. Giant pepper shakers. Called themselves Daleks.” Tony added.

“Never seen them before, but we’ve heard of them.” Peter said, following his group out into the lawn.

The Avengers followed and stopped when they stopped a little ways from the H.Q.

“Do you guys have a spaceship or...?” Bucky asked, looking around, and even up at the sky.

“Oh yeah. We’ve got a spaceship.” Peter said very cockily. He pulled out something from his pocket and pressed a button, and the Avengers gasped as an invisible shield came off, revealing a very large (as large as the Avengers H.Q., or larger), very impressive, blue and orange spaceship with broad, metallic wings. It glinted beautifully in the dawn light.

Tony looked over to Pepper with a huge grin on his face and she immediately said, “Don’t _even_ think about it.”

Two large doors near the bottom opened and a large ramp unfolded, which Groot —carrying the Tardis, Drax and Rocket walked up and into the ship, who was whooping and cheering about how rich they were going to be.

“Well, I gotta say, we owe you one.” Peter said, turning to Tony and shaking his hand with a firm grip.

“For what?” Tony asked as they let go of each others’ hands.

“For letting us get the Tardis easy-peasy. Usually we have to stun or kill someone to get the things we need, but this time it was easy. So thanks.”

“No problem.” Tony smiled, “But if I were to take you up on you doing me a favor, how would I contact you?”

“Rocket took a sample of your A.I. to check out. So I guess you can contact us through it.”

Tony nodded hesitantly.

Peter turned to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and gave them a two-fingered salute and said, “Avengers.” Then turned and walked to the ship.

Gamora gave them an approving look then followed him.

_We owe you one..._

The words rung in his head as he watched Gamora and Peter enter the ship and the ramp folded back up and the door slowly start to lower.

_We owe you one..._

“Wait!” Tony shouted, he ran to the giant spaceship, “Wait!” He banged his fist on the metal door that had just fallen.

“Peter!”

The door opened up again and he and Gamora were standing there.

“What’s up?” Peter asked, crouching down so he and Tony were at the same eye level.

“Have you heard of any medicine that could heal someone? Even if they were in a coma?”

“No, s—”

“I have.” Gamora said. Tony turned around and called Thor to join him, and the Asgardian did, listening to what Gamora was saying.

“In Alfheim. Queen Aelsa has very strong healing potions, but she only—”

“I thought my mother had destroyed all of the potions and set a law that whoever made potions were to be held at trial at the Royal Court.” Thor said.

Gamora shook her head, “No, your highness. She only did that with Love Potions and Memory Wiping Potions.”

“How can you be out of the loop about something your mother did across the galaxy?” Tony asked, then turned to look up at Gamora, “Do you think she’d give me one?”

“With much persuasion, yes.”

Tony faced Peter with a grin, then said, “I think I’ll use that ‘owe’ now.”

Peter smiled. “All right. Grab your things and hop aboard. You’ve got thirty minutes.”

“Thanks so much.” Tony said, then headed back to the H.Q. quickly with Thor. When they passed the group they all followed him inside.

“Clint, come with me and unhook (Y/n) from the heart monitor and machines.” Tony said as he grabbed Pepper’s hand and pulled her upstairs with him, leaving everybody else behind.

“Tony, what did you do?” Pepper asked when Thor entered his own room.

“I’m going with them.” Tony explained, pulling out a suitcase and placing it on the bed and opening it.

“Why?”

“There’s a medicine-potion thing that can bring (Y/n) out of her coma.” He said, putting clothes in the case.

“What? Tony, this is crazy. You can’t just leave!” Pepper said.

“I have to. You can come with me.” Tony said, snapping the large suitcase shut. He left it and took Pepper’s hands in his, “Deep space, Pepper. This a once in a lifetime chance.”

Pepper looked down at his hands, then shook her head, pulling away from him.

“No, no. Someone has to run the company.” She said, getting choked up.

“Forget about that. Please, Pepper.”

She shook her head, “This is all a little too much for me. A-and what if (Y/n) wakes up when you’re gone?” “She’s ginna come with me.” Tony said, taking the suitcase off the bed and leaving the room, with Pepper following.

He entered the room where his niece lay in a coma. He approached the side of the bed and said to Clint, “Help me get her downstairs. Grab her machines.” And started wheeling her bed across the floor. Just as he was about to leave the room, Pepper caught his arm and turned him to face her.

“Tony, just stop and think about this for a moment. You’re going into space with these —these people you’ve just met!”

“I’m doing this for (Y/n), Pepper. We don’t know what she’s going through. The faster she wakes up, the faster she gets better. You have to trust me on this.” He gave Pepper a kiss on the cheek, muttered an apology, then pushed the bed out of the room and down the hall with Clint following with a few machines wheeling behind him.

Tony, Clint the machines and (Y/n) on the bed crammed into the elevator and sent it downstairs. The doors opened and Tony started to push the bed out of the elevator to find Thor explaining what was going on to the other teammates, and with Loki standing right next to him in handcuffs.

And his blood absolutely boiled with anger.

Bruce noticed him and quickly nudged Thor, who turned to face Tony.

Loki’s eyes immediately fell onto (Y/n)’s sleeping form. He hadn’t seen her for a year, and his heart tightened to see that she was still in a coma.

Because of him.

He looked away painfully.

“Clint, take those to the ship, find a room for (Y/n).” Tony said.

Barton nodded and pulled the machines outside.

Tony turned to Thor, “Thor. What—”

“Tony, let me explain. We need to take Loki with us. We both know Queen Aelsa; when we were children we went to Alfheim for battle training. She took a fondness to Loki since he knows magic. If we took him along it might make her easier to bribe.” Tony glared at Loki the entire time Thor spoke.

The rest of the Avengers had gathered round in a loose circle, watching in silence for Tony’s reaction.

“Are you absolutely sure she’ll say yes?” Tony asked through gritted teeth.

“Yes.” Thor said firmly.

“Okay.” Tony faced Loki again, who met his bitter gaze, “You have two tries, Loki. Screw them up, we’ll drop you into space. Nod if you understand.”

Loki nodded, swallowing.

“Alright.” Tony let out a tense breath, turning to face the others and began drumming his fingers on the metal bar on the bed, “I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, but once we’re out there I’ll contact you through Jarvis and give you guys the ETA.”

He spotted Pepper standing next to Steve, then gave her a hug and another kiss then whispered, “Call me any time, okay?” She nodded and watched him give each of his teammates a hug, then went back to pushing the bed through the living room and outside outside and across the lawn, then up the ramp that entered the giant spaceship.

Pepper went up to Thor and rubbed her eyes and said, “I-I can watch him if you want to see goodbye to the others.”

“Are you sure?” Pepper nodded. Thor thanked her, gave Loki a warning glance, then went to say goodbye to his teammates.

“Try not to fight with Tony, okay?” She said, turning to Loki, “I’m also speaking for (Y/n) when I’m saying this. I want all four of you to come back alive, alright? That means no fighting unless you need to protect yourself.”

Loki nodded, fiddling with his fingers, “I give you my word.”

“Thank you.” She said, then got a hug from Thor, and he escorted Loki outside.

 


	27. The Imfamous Loki Laufeyson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm really, so, so, so x80 SORRY for not updating. I've had a lot of things to do over these couple weeks, but here's the next chapter <3

 

“Wow.” Tony breathed, gazing up and through the glass cockpit and into space.

Peter sat in the captain’s seat, guiding the spaceship (which Tony found out he called it ‘Milano’) just past Pluto.

“I know.” Rocket said excitedly, “I can’t believe we have the infamous Loki Laufeyson on board. We heard ALL about his whole trying-to-take-over-Earth-and-Asgard scheme.”

“Huh? Oh.” Tony said, looking down at Rocket.

“Yeah, he’s famous all around, but famous for different things. Trying to take over planets; trying to take over planets and failing; never taking no as an answer—”

“I get it.” Tony interrupted, “What’s the ETA on getting to...”

“Alfheim.” Gamora and Rocket answered.

“Yeah.”

Peter unclipped himself from his seat, flicked a few switches on the console in front of himself and got up. Tony moved out of the way and followed him through the short hallway and into the saloon where it was a giant circular room where chairs were dotted around.

Bucky was standing next to the wall, running his hand over a whirring piece of metal with a blinking light.

Tony had practically begged for Bucky to come along, but in the end, he agreed.

Loki sat in one of them on the far side of the room, engage in a quiet conversation with Thor.

Tony stood on Peter’s right as the captain pulled out this thing that looked like a remote and pointed it at the wall, then pressed a button.

A gold hologram displayed an image of the galaxy. “We’re the blue dot right there,” Rocket said, pointing to the far left side of the image, “and that’s where we’re going.” He then pointed to another blue dot just to the right of the center of the galaxy.

“Probably would take about a few months.”

“A few months?!” Tony asked, turning to him.

“Without any problems, yeah.” Rocket said, completely ignoring his outburst.

“Perhaps less then that, maybe a month,” Gamora said, “I know a few secret portals and tricks to get us there faster.”

“Of course you would.” Loki snickered.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” She asked, turning to face him.

Bucky turned around to look at them, his body ready to spring into action if need be.

“Being the servant of such a man, you’re _BOUND_ to know a lot of secrets.”

“I am _NOT_ working with him.” She hissed, advancing towards him.

Loki stood, grinding his teeth.

Thor rose as well.

“Who? _THANOS_?” Peter asked, turning off the hologram projector and facing the two, “Everyone’s got beef with Thanos—”

“Who’s Thanos?” Bucky asked, moving over to Tony’s side, “I’ll explain later.” The billionaire said.

“Which is the exact reason why we’re here.” Loki growled,

“Because of your ‘father’.”

“I am _NOT_ his daughter.” Gamora snapped, walking forward until they were toe-to-toe, and Loki didn’t budge.

Peter walked up and put a hand on her shoulder, saying, “Guys, let’s just all take a deep breath.” He tried to pull her back, but she simply shrugged his hand off.

“We’re not here because of him, Loki. We’re here because of _YOU_.” Tony snapped.

“I am Groot.” Groot said, coming down from one of the halls with Drax.

Rocket ran over to Groot and climbed up his shoulder and sat there and said, “This is just getting good.”

Without looking away from Gamora, Loki said, “We are here because of her employer and his assistant, the Other, brainwashed me into attempting to take over Asgard and hurting...” he changed his tone of voice to a gentler one, “and harming (Y/n).”

And in three quick strides Tony had made it over to Loki and landed a hard slap to his face, sending everyone into a stunned silence.

“Tony.” Thor grabbed his wrist in a firm grip, but he shook the Asgardian off.

Loki kept his eyes down to the floor.

“You do _NOT_ get to say her name. You don’t deserve her. You could _NEVER_ deserve her.” Tony said, his voice wavering from anger.

“I am sorry.” Loki whispered.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

Loki swallowed then said in a louder voice, “I am sorry.”

The Guardians of the Galaxy all thought Loki was all ‘kick ass and take some names’ and menacing, someone people feared. Not someone who would bow because a simple mortal asked him to.

Rocket was the one who was the most crushed. “You can’t take a man’s dignity from him like that!” He said.

Keeping his head down, Loki stepped around the chair he was sitting in and went down a different hall. Just as his footsteps got far away, they heard the telltale sound of their prison door being opened, then it creaking and shutting with an echo.

“Prison containment secure.” Jarvis said over the speakers.

Thor clenched his large hands into fists.

“Hey,” Tony turned to Thor, “how about you stand up for (Y/n), for once?”

“I _AM_. But the way you’re treating Loki is completely outrageous.” Tony shook his head.

“So when is the wedding?” Drax said.

“Drax, _NO_.” Peter said. “What wedding?” Tony snapped. Rocket scrambled off of Groot as he started walking over to Drax and tried to cover his mouth with his branch-like arms.

“The wedding— the— wedding— get off of me!” Drax picked up Groot and shoved him backwards.

“The wedding between Loki and (Y/n) Stark.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot upwards, while Thor and Bucky was confused, and the rest of the Guardians gave a frustrated sigh.

“ _WHAT_?”

Gamora sighed again then said quickly, “Last year when AllMother Queen Frigga was alive she had declared that her youngest son, Loki was to marry a Midgardian by the name of (Y/n) Stark.”

Tony stood there for a moment, letting that information sink in. He turned around and went down the hall where Loki’s cell was, with Thor and Bucky following closely.

“Did I say something?” Drax asked, turning to his comrades.

 

 

“You were going to marry (Y/n)?” Tony asked through the bars.

“What?”

Tony pointed back the where everyone was, “They just told me that your mother was planning a wedding for you and (Y/n).” Tony said through gritted teeth.

“I-I... I told no one that I wanted to marry her.”

“Then how did your mother _KNOW_ and _WHY_ did she tell the whole _GALAXY_?”

“Mother had always been over dramatic when it came to our love lives, Tony.”

Thor explained.

Tony stood there, glaring at Loki and gripping the iron bars so hard that his knuckles turned white. “Did you ever _TALK_ with (Y/n) about getting married?”

“No,” Loki said, letting out a shaky breath, “those were private thoughts. Mine and mine alone.”

Breathing heavy, Tony stayed there for a few more seconds before pushing himself off of the bars and going back to where the Guardians were, then went down a hall where his cabin was.

“What the hell was that?” Peter asked when Thor came back to join them. He let out a sigh and began to explain everything that happened; from when (Y/n) and Loki had been abducted by the Other, to Loki talking with Daredevil. He explained (Y/n) and Loki’s relationship and how it grew. Bucky had never heard the whole story either, so things finally started to make sense for him.

When Thor finished speaking, Rocket had something to say. “All this for a girl?!”

“You would not say that if you knew her.” Thor said.

“Yeah, Rocket.” Peter said, “Imagine instead of it being a girl, it being... forty thousand units. Someone made Loki burn it all,”

Rocket’s face turned to horror,

“but he didn’t want to. Now he’s trying to get the money back.”

“Ohhh.” Rocket said, “Well why the hell didn’t you say so?”

Gamora sighed, then headed back to the cockpit, sitting where Peter had been sitting.

Thor shook his head sadly.

“So we’re not going to give him to Thanos?” Rocket asked.

“What?” Thor asked, turning to him and tightening his grip on Mjölnir.

“Did say I that out loud?” Rocket asked, faking innocence, which only made Thor scowl.

Rocket sighed, “Thanos has a hundred _THOUSAND_ credits for Loki, dead or alive.”

“No.” Thor said firmly.

Bucky let out an exasperated sigh, “ _WHO IS THANOS_?”

 

 

They could all say that the first few days didn’t go well. Loki mainly stayed in his cell (unless he had to use the bathroom), and out of everyone else’s way.

On the fourth day Tony and Bucky face-chatted with his teammates and let them know the ETA on getting to Alfheim. After about twenty minutes, Steve, and Natasha had to leave on a mission, so he talked to Clint and Pepper for about an hour more.

Even though it was morning on Earth, everyone’s body clock on the Milano was set for bed. Peter popped into Tony’s room, saying that he we as going to bed and that the Milano would be on autopilot for the night.

Tony feigned a yawn then said goodnight to Peter, who had stopped by to say the same thing, and said goodnight to Pepper and Clint, then turned off the screen. Tony and his niece shared a large room, where they re-attached her to the machine that gave her nutrition and that showed her pulse; Tony preferred to have her as close as possible since they were in the long run of getting her back.

Thor shared his room with Bucky, knowing that coming from a different time and that all of this would be overwhelming.

Tony laid down on the bed and flicked off the light switch, flushing him into darkness, except with the occasional light blinking. He looked out his open room door and saw a light on in the distance, then returned his gaze to the dark ceiling. He couldn’t sleep.

A smile spread over his face.

He was on his way to bringing back his baby girl, and he was ecstatic. He threw off his sheets and jumped out of bed, snatching his phone and leaving the room. He made a right turn away from the cockpit started to stroll down the dim halls, a grin plastered to his face.

In a month, he would have the cure for his niece, and soon after he would be back on Earth, with (Y/n) awake. He passed Thor’s cabin and turned right. He stopped at the wall that was completely made out of glass, admiring the view.

He was taken away by the beauty. Thousands upon thousands of stars glittered in the black abyss of space. Splashes of colorful space clouds pulled the entire image together. He pulled out his phone and started to take a few pictures, and even a selfie.

There was no way he could sleep with all this beauty waiting for him.

 

 

There was no way he could sleep with all the terror that lay in his head, waiting for him.

Loki took a few deep breaths, staring at his darkened ceiling. He didn’t bother wiping the tears from his face as he squeezed his eyes shut. For the first time since her death, Loki had dreamt about his mother, Frigga.

He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, letting out a quiet sob.

He missed her so much, but he knew she was up in Valhalla.

Whether she was looking down at him with sadness, disgust, or pity, Loki could never know.

He heard footsteps come down the hall towards his cell, and he silently rolled onto his side, facing the wall. He pressed his lips together and tried to calm his breathing as the footsteps passed, but had accidentally sniffled too loud for his liking.

The footsteps stopped.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid_! He thought to himself as the person came back to his cell.

“What’s wrong?” Asked the slightly annoyed voice that belonged to no other than Tony Stark.

Loki didn’t reply.

“You’re obviously crying about something.” He stated.

Loki took a deep breath then said over his shoulder, “If you must know, I had a nightmare about my mother.”

“Oh.” Tony muttered, “Sorry.”

He didn’t speak again for a few seconds, “She died, right? Thor told me a little—”

Loki nodded.

“Sorry.” Tony repeated, he knew never to insult or make bad talk about ones mother. He leaned against the iron bars, looking at Loki’s back, then to the ground.

“Yeah, I was like that too when my parents died— well, with more alcohol, but still. They died in a car crash when I was twenty-one.” Tony swallowed, “I wasn’t close with my dad that much, but my mom, she was always there for me. Took me on trips to the museum, took me to baseball games, taught me how to swim... but it does get better. Over time, it gets easier.”

Then silence broke over them again until Loki said, “Why are you being kind to me?”

Tony sighed, “Let’s just say all the planets aligned.”

Then Tony asked hesitantly, “Do you and (Y/n) still have a,” he clenched his teeth, “soul bond?”

Loki closed his eyes and imagined himself and (Y/n) facing each other. There was a strong gold string connecting from his chest to (Y/n)’s, turning a bright white the closer it got to hers.

The white represented if someone lived for less than a hundred years, and gold represented someone living for more than three hundred years.

Loki opened his eyes, “Yes.”

Tony cleared his throat, “So does that mean if you have nightmares, does she have them as well?”

Loki rolled over onto his back on the narrow cot, looking up at the ceiling, “I... I do not know.”

Now he was genuinely thinking about it. He had very disturbing nightmares, things he would never share with anyone except (Y/n).

But if she were trapped in a never ending spiral of blood and Thanos... he couldn’t bear it.

“Well I guess not.” Tony said, “If she did, the monitors would show her heartbeat going haywire.”

Loki let out a sigh of relief, nodding as he ran his hand through his long black hair, then rested it back on his waist.

He finally looked at Tony and asked, “How is she?”

Tony sighed and looked at the floor of his cell a few times, tapping his foot. He straightened up and patted the iron bars and said, “See you in the morning.”

Then he walked back to his cabin.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for everyone who has kudo-ed, commented, and recommend this to other people.
> 
> "I am, and always shall be, your friend." —Spock.


	28. Welcome Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I am so so so sorry, I was away on a trip for a week and couldn't upload a chapter at all, but I think you'll forgive me as you're reading this <3 <3 and as I promised, you return.

 

A few days later they were able to return the Tardis to the Doctor; a British guy in a brown pin-striped suit who profusely thanked them, and his companion; a girl with blonde hair by the name of Rose. The Guardians of the Galaxy, Tony, Thor, and Loki said goodbye to them, and embarked on the Milano after watching the Doctor and Rose enter the Tardis, shut the doors, and disappear in front of their eyes with a whoosh of wind and a loud creaking sound.

 

 

They were back in space, headed to Alfheim. There were a few mishaps along the way; almost getting caught in a solar storm, then a few days after _ACTUALLY_ getting caught in an asteroid storm, which Rocket had a great time navigating the Milano through.

After that night Tony and Loki talked to each other, Tony wasn’t as nice in the morning. Or anytime to Loki, in fact.

Thor was also getting sick of Tony’s crappy personality, but he didn’t say anything because he (Thor) didn’t want Tony to be pissed off at him, too. Then, soon enough, they finally reached Alfheim.

 

 

It was when everyone was sleeping when Jarvis woke everyone up and told them that they were landing.

Tony quickly got out of bed and put on a suit jacket on top of a simple black t-shirt and jeans. Tony grabbed the suitcase where he had his niece’s arm in, and rushed out of his room to the cockpit, where Peter was just sitting down. Bucky joined Tony looking out the windows, and they both let out a breath of amazement.

Below them, there was a large, beautiful, green clearing with a large army holding spears, bows and arrows, and staffs, waiting for them. Beyond that, several yards away, there was a forest and a large river running through it.

Bucky could have sworn he saw a mermaid swimming in there.

“Thor, get Loki and do your thing.” Tony said, leaving the cockpit and going back to his room. He unhooked his niece from the machines and there was a jolt; the ship had landed. He heard the large ramp opening and heard the thudding of everyone’s footsteps. He wheeled the cot out of the room and down the hall to where the ramp was. Tony saw Thor (who had a grip on Loki) talking to the guy with pointed ears who seemed to be the leader of the army. But the man wasn’t responding. The rest of his army had formed a loose circle around them, and Tony coughed, “You think they can talk or...?”

“They can talk.” Thor said, walking around the perimeter.

“I am Thor Odinson. Prince of Asgard. I have come for—” suddenly a bright light exploded in his face, and a fairy was hovering there with a small clipboard and quill in her arms.

“Thor Odinson! My apologies. I had no idea. I am Briarbead, I’m here to account everyone and to see if they are permitted on this planet.” The yellow fairy said.

“Oh jeez.” Tony heard Peter mutter.

Briarbead then looked over to Loki and frowned.

“He is with me.” Thor said, “He won’t harm anyone, I swear on the Nine Realms.” And Loki nodded.

Briarbead quickly scribbled down Thor and Loki’s name, then exploded in another bright light, appearing in front of Bucky.

“And you ar—?” Bucky quickly swatted at her, but luckily, the fairy flew out of the way and the army readied their weapons.

“Woah, woah, woah!” Peter said, moving over to the Bucky and grabbing his metal arm. Bucky started at Briarbead, confused and startled.

“You can’t hurt these guys. They’re all about peace, but they have a very well-trained army and you do _NOT_ want to be on their bad side.”

“But— but she’s a—”

“A fairy, yes. I thought they weren’t real when I was a kid. But there are more things out there that you won’t begin to believe, and you can’t go picking fights with every single one of them.” Peter explained.

“Hypocrite.” Rocket muttered.

“Yeah, uh, sorry for my friend there.” Tony said to Briarbead, “We’re from... out of... planet. We’ve never seen fairies before.”

Briarbead huffed and straightened her clipboard, “Well. There are a lot of Fae here, and I hope you do not do that to every single one of them.”

“Can he come with us?” Tony asked.

“I do not think so.”

“Why not? You’re letting _HIM_ go.” He pointed at Loki.

“The circumstances are different.” Briarbead said.

“I’m Tony Stark, and he will—”

“Tony Stark?” She asked, “THE Tony Stark? The genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist? The one who destroyed the Chitauri and prevented universal catastrophe?”

Tony smirked, “The one and only.”

The fairy squealed excitedly and Loki rolled his eyes.

“You can bring him along.” Briarbead said, flying around Bucky and writing on the clipboard.

“And may I see, Mr. Stark, what is inside that suitcase?”

“Oh. Sure.” Tony lifted the suitcase onto the edge of the cot his niece was on, punched in the four digit passcode, then opened it.

“It’s an arm for her, my niece.” Briarbead flew over (Y/n)’s body and said, “And you— oh dear.”

“That’s why we’re here.” Thor said as the fairy landed on the cot, next to (Y/n)’s head. Tony closed the suitcase and held it by his side again.

“In a coma, I see.” Briarbead said, then wrote down some more on her notepad. She exploded in light, then appeared in front of Thor, “And why has this love-able gang visiting?”

“Queen Aelsa has something we need. If you can get us to her as soon as possible...”

“Of course! Anything for the Prince of Asgard. Let me just check if she is busy, pardon me.” Briarbead said, then once more, exploded in yellow light, vanishing.

In the minute she was gone, Tony and Bucky looked around again. The grass underneath their shoes flowed slightly in the breeze, and the trees with red, yellow, and green leaves, danced as the air swept through their branches. Tony looked up through squinted eyes and saw that the sky held two suns, one which was farther away.

Briarbead reappeared and said, “The Queen will see you know.” Just as she was pulling out her wand, Peter stepped forward and said, “Our gang will wait here. Keep the Milano warm and running. But let us know when you’ll be back.”

Tony nodded, then shook his hand, “Yeah, sure. How long could it take?” In a swirl of gold light and the smell of flowers, they were transported to a large, yellow room with pillars with intricate designs that stood on the side.

“What a generous surprise.” A woman said. They all turned around to face the throne, where the Queen was rising to a stand, then walking down the steps.

Thor and Loki kneeled, then stood.

“Queen Aelsa, it has been long.” Thor smiled.

The Queen curtsied in her peach orange dress, then stood up straight. She had pale skin and long, pure white hair that was braided down to her bare feet.

“Thor, it is a pleasure to see you. Though it has not always been that way.” She said with a secretive smile, her black eyes grazing over his chin and cheeks, and Thor smiled back.

The Queen looked down at Loki, then said, “Stand.”

Loki did as he was told and met her gaze, “Hello, Queen Aelsa.”

“Loki.” She looked him up and down, “You have grown.”

“Yes. So have you.”

“How is your magick?”

“I... I don’t have it any more.” He admitted.

“And why not?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“AllFather stripped me of it, after the things I did on Midgard.”

Queen Aelsa’s gaze fell to his wrists that were in handcuffs.

“Good.”

She walked around the princes, “And I see we have a few with us now.”

“Hello, Your Majesty.” Tony said, kneeling and putting his right fist over his heart like he had seen Thor do.

He wasn’t about to screw this up.

He looked over and saw that Bucky was still standing, so Tony coughed loudly, signaling to do the same. Bucky quickly got to his knee as well, copying Tony, “Your Majesty.”

She chuckled, “Rise.”

They stood.

“It’s and honor to meet you, Your Majesty. I-It’s an honor to be here.” Tony gushed.

“You must be Tony Stark.” She said, “Briarbead has told me about you and your feats with the Avengers.”

Tony blushed, looking down. Queen Aelsa went past him and looked down at the girl in the cot. The Queen stroked her hand.

“We’re here because of her, Your Majesty.” Tony explained, “We’ve heard you had a healing potion, a very powerful one, and we were wondering if you would be generous enough to let us—”

“Use it on her?” The Queen interrupted, looking at (Y/n)’s resting face, trailing her fingers down her cheek, then pulling her hand back.

The Queen looked at Loki and said, “Another?”

Loki awkwardly shifted on his feet, “I’m different.”

“Of course you are. The young Loki I knew wouldn’t dream of trying to take over a planet.”

Tony threw a quick glare at him that read ‘Make her comply’.

Loki swallowed.

“I admit I have made some mistakes... But she is not one.”

“You seemed very invested in Sigyn when the two of you were together.” Queen Aelsa said.

“Sigyn was a mistake.” Loki said, keeping his anger hidden, “I know that now.”

“And how do you know this mortal is not your next mistake?”

Tony held his tongue.

“Because I _KNOW_.”

“How?” Queen Aelsa snapped.

“Because the way she looked at me. They way she talked to me and acted around me. Because she... she had trusted me. And I trusted her. Utterly and completely. She got into me, like no one— not even Sigyn, had gotten in before. She got in, and she stayed there.” Loki said sharply, “She stayed. And I got in her as well. She was...” he looked over to her sleeping form, then back to the Queen, “she _IS_ , still in me. The way I am, now, after the things I’ve done, is because of her. She saved me... and I will always be in her debt.”

Then there was silence, everyone looking at Loki and Queen Aelsa.

“Damn.” Bucky muttered rubbing his eyes, and everyone turned to him.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.” He said, quickly getting to his knee, then standing.

Queen Aelsa folded her hands in front of herself.

Tony’s heart was racing; would what Loki said make her give them the potion, or make her mad?

The Queen started to pace, “You know of my fondness for Midgardians, Loki?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“I felt I had been attacked personally when you attacked Earth, slaying those innocents. I would have sent thousands of soldiers to help with the damage, but the AllFather forbade me, claiming if I sent anyone, there would be more confusion and fear. Now,” she gestured to the bed, “you have claimed one as your Soul Mate. You are aware of how long they live?”

“Yes.” He said firmly.

“Are you prepared for the inevitable?”

Loki clenched his jaw, looking away.

“Are you prepared?”

Loki rubbed his hands harshly.

“ _ARE. YOU. PREPARED_?”

“No!” He said, glaring at her, “No. I never will be. And for that, I am a fool.”

Queen Aelsa nodded then stopped pacing. She smiled gently at her feet. She looked back up at the others and twirled her hand in the air; a gold sparking mist following her movement.

She walked to Loki, now holding a glass needle filled with a pick liquid.

“Inject this in her, and she will wake up and be healed, I can promise you that.” Then she placed it carefully in his hands.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Tony said as Loki passed the needle to him.

“Let’s move her to another room, shall we?” The Queen asked, waving both hands in the air. In the same gold mist, their surroundings changed to a small, ordinary bedroom. His niece wasn’t on the cot anymore, but on an actual bed.

“Okay, here we go.” Tony said, sitting on the edge of the mattress. Holding the needle in one hand, he turned his niece’s arm over and pricked her skin with the tip of the needle, then pushed the pink fluid into her vein. When it was emptied, he pulled the needle out and held his thumb over the spot where it started to bleed.

“Allow me.” The Queen said, waving her hand over (Y/n) small wound, and it healed itself. Tony removed his hand, seeing that it did heal itself.

“And, Your Majesty, if you can do one more favor...” Tony asked, opening up his suitcase on his knee, and carefully pulling out the mechanical arm.

“Of course.” She said, watching Tony line it up with his niece’s right shoulder stump. Tony held it there firmly as Queen Aelsa passed her hand over where the metal met skin, going all the way down to the metallic fingertips, red and blue sparks showering from the arm and singeing Tony’s hands.

When the Queen pulled her hands away, so did Tony, and he saw that the arm held its place. He was amazed. He quickly got down to his knee, saying, “Thank you so much, Your Majesty. Thank you for your generosity. You’re such an amazing Queen, a-and a beautiful one, may I add.”

“Thank you for your nice comments, Mr. Stark.” Queen Aelsa said, chuckling. Tony stood, then quickly turned to his niece when he saw her stir.

 

 

It was dark. Forever darkness, then suddenly, something inside you shifted. There were voices, but they were too muffled to hear. There was a cold pressure on your right shoulder, which quickly grew warm, the warmth spreading down to your fingers, and you let out an internal sigh.

There was that same voice again, much closer this time, “... your generosity. You’re... Queen, a-and a beautiful one, may I add.” It was a mans voice, and the next one was female, “Thank you for your nice comments, Mr. Stark.”

A random happiness spread through you when you heard that name, and, with your left hand, you gripped the bedsheets.

There was a dip in whatever you were laying on, and someone’s hand stroked down your arm, causing goosebumps to rise over your skin.

“(Y/n)? Baby girl? Can you hear me?” He was holding your hand now and rubbing it with his.

You let out a shuddering breath.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re safe now.” He cooed.

Then, slowly, light entered your vision, along with the view of two people. You let out another sigh, looking at him, and the pale woman behind him. You tried sitting up, and he quickly got up to help you, but you flinched at his sudden movement.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized, then moved slower, propping a pillow behind you when you fully sat up. He sat back down at the edge of the bed with tears in his eyes, looking at you with a smile.

You frowned, then tried to ask why he was crying, but the only sound you make was a squeak, then started coughing.

He asked for water as you covered your mouth with your hands, squeezing your eyes shut. He gently tapped your shoulder and you looked at him, and he had a glass of water for you.

You took it and drank it, unfortunately for you, swallowing hurt. You coughed up the water again, almost choking on it.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” He cooed, “Little sips.”

You nodded, coughing some more. Once you stopped, you took his advice; little sips. When you drank the whole cup, he took it from you and handed it to the woman behind him, then looked back at you.

“I can’t believe it.” He sobbed, running his hands through his hair. He then embraced you in a hug, crying into your hair.

You slowly wrapped your arms around him, rubbing his back.

He was saying something, but since he was crying, you couldn’t understand. You looked over his head to the right side of your bed, and saw three more men standing there. You made eye contact with a pair of green eyes and you wrapped your arms tighter around the man, until he started chuckling slightly and saying,

“Ow, ow, (Y/n). You’re crushing me.” You let go of him and he pulled back, looking at your right arm and sniffling, “You’ll have to get used to your strength, or I can recalibrate it to match your other arm’s strength.”

You looked at him, not understanding a single thing in that sentence.

He stroked the side of your face gently, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

You coughed again, trying to speak.

“You remember me, right?”

You coughed again, and this time you spoke, “Am... am I supposed to?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *mic drop* 
> 
> There's this chapter, done. Comment your reactions, and criticism below, and hit the kudos button, if you wish. And thank you everyone who already has <3


	29. Connect The Dots

 

You were in the room alone with the man who introduced himself as Tony Stark. He told you your name, which was (Y/n) Stark.

“Are you my dad, then?” You asked.

“No, no, no. Just your uncle.”

“Then where are my parents?”

“You’re mother died when she was giving birth to you, and I don’t know where your father is. He left when he found out that your mother was pregnant with you. So I took custody of you.”

You nodded. “How old am I?”

“You’re twenty-five years old. You’re birthday is on (Day/Month).”

You nodded, “And when is that?”

“A few months ago.” He told you.

“Could you tell me a little bit about what I was like?”

Tony smiled, “You were... awesome. You were very intelligent. You were sometimes stubborn, but for always the right reasons, even though I couldn’t sometimes see those reasons. You were funny, sweet, caring. Helpful...” he trailed off, putting his head in his hands, “I’m sorry.” He said shakily.

“It’s fine.” You said, putting a hand on his shoulder in a comforting way, “I’m sorry I can’t remember.”

“No.” He said firmly, “It’s not your fault. Absolutely not. I... I was stupid for allowing you to get in harms way.”

“Accidents happen... I guess.” You said, trying to comfort him.

“You, uh,” he cleared his throat, “you also had powers. Over shadows. You could control them, manipulate them however you want. You could also make things invisible and make portals.”

“For real?”

“Yeah.” Tony pulled out his phone, tapped it a few times and showed you a video of yourself.

You were laughing, waving your hands around and moving this dark matter around yourself. You watched yourself in awe. Tony then turned off his phone and put it in his pocket.

You noticed something in that video, “So, I never had this metal arm?”

“No, you only got it attached a few minutes ago. But for a year and a half, nothing.”

You nodded, resting your metallic hand on your lap and sliding your left hand over it.

“How... how did I end up this way?” You asked, looking up.

Tony sighed, “It’s a long story.” He got up from the bed, “I’m gonna bring in a friend to help explain, okay?”

You nodded, your chest tight, hoping it wasn’t the man with green eyes.

Tony walked to the door and pulled it open. He leaned out and gestured for someone to come over.

You crossed your legs, watching the door with your heart pounding in your ears. It was the man with short, dark brown hair. You let out a sigh of relief, smiling at him when he smiled at you.

He pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down in it. “Hi. I’m Bucky.”

He held his hand out for you to shake, and when you did, he winced and you quickly let go, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to squeeze that hard.”

That’s when you saw his left arm was made from metal, just like yours, and you grinned, “You’re like me.”

He gave you a smirk, “Yeah, I guess I am. In more ways than one.”

You were just about to ask what he meant, but Tony spoke first, “I was just about to tell her what happened. But I have to start from the very beginning.”

 

1941.

World War II was going on in Europe. Soldiers from other countries were being shipped to Europe to help fight against the Nazis, including Bucky.

“Hold on, you were in World War Two?” You asked Bucky, “Then how are you still so young?”

“We’ll get to that.” Tony said.

One person who could not join, at first, was a scrawny, breathe-in-a-speck-of-dust-and-have-an-asthma-attack Steve Rogers.

Bucky and Steve were best friends. One day while Steve was illegally trying to test to get in the army, again, a man had come up to him, saying that they would accept him in the army. Bucky had been shipped off to Europe, while Steve had to stay behind, training.

He trained for weeks, then the man pulled him aside and said that they would like to preform some tests on him. It was a secret organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) was creating this serum to make soldiers super, and to help fight against a secret group called Hydra, who wanted global domination. Tony explained that his father worked for S.H.I.E.L.D..

Steve was the first test subject for the Super Soldier Serum. The procedure worked. He had come out muscly and had super-strength.

They created a name for him; Captain America.

In between training other normal soldiers, he was doing performances on stage to make people help as much as they can by recycling.

Once S.H.I.E.L.D. thought he was ready, they sent him on the next trip to Europe. He then was leading soldiers into battle, fighting against Hydra and the Nazis. One day while at a camp, Steve found out that Bucky’s squadron was captured by Hydra.

Fast foreword to Steve rescuing Bucky, and finding out that Hydra had a very, very powerful weapon called the Tesseract. Steve, Bucky, and others helped break into several Hydra bases over the course of a few months. While trying to infiltrate a Hydra train, Bucky had fallen off of it and down a large icy canyon.

“From there, I was found by Hydra. They abducted me and took me to one of their camps, where they wiped my memories several hundred times, and brainwashed me even more. They gave me this arm.” He said, pointing at his left arm.

“Did Hydra get me?” You asked, fear was injected in your voice.

“No,” Tony said calmly.

He continued on with his story.

Steve, now alone, had found the Tesseract again, on a giant airplane. There was a large battle, and the Tesseract was lost in the ocean. The man who had the Tesseract, Johann Schmidt, died. Steve was the only person left on the plane, and the plane was headed to New York to destroy it on impact.

So, Steve piloted it into the icy ocean, where he was frozen, alive, for almost seventy years.

“Wow.” You breathed.

“And that’s also how Hydra kept me alive for so long, they kept putting me on ice, unless... unless I had missions to do.” Bucky said, looking away from Tony.

“Now, in 2011,” Tony continued, “A guy fell to Earth from another planet called Asgard.”

“An alien?” You asked.

Tony chuckled, “Yeah. On his planet, he’s a prince,”

your jaw dropped,

“The Prince of Asgard. His name was Thor. Buck, can you get Thor?” Bucky nodded and got up and went to the door and opened it.

“How you doin?” Tony asked quietly, “Is this all kinda making sense?”

You shrugged, “Kinda? Maybe once I hear the rest, it’ll come together.” Thor came in and stood next to where Bucky had sat back down.

“I’m Thor.” He said with a smile, but it didn’t look like a happy smile.

He held his hand out to shake, but you shook your head, “I don’t want to hurt you, Your Majesty.”

He and Tony chuckled, “You can’t hurt me. And you can just call me Thor.”

Slowly, you shook his hand.

“We were just telling her about when you came to Earth.”

Thor smiled at the memory.

“Yes... I remember...” It all started on the day Thor was going to be crowned King of Asgard by his father, Odin, who was apparently, the king of the Nine Realms: Asgard, Midgard (Earth), Jötunheim (Land of the Frost Giants), Vanaheim, Svartalheim, Nidavellir, Muspelheim, Alfheim, and Helheim.

A few Frost Giants had gotten into Asgard and into the Hall of Treasures to take back their source of power, the Casket.

“Why did you have it in the first place?” You asked. Thor explained how armies of Frost Giants had gone down to Earth and killed people several thousand years before.

“Oh.” You muttered.

But after the Frost Giants had almost gotten their weapon of power, breaking the peace treaty the AllFather had with the King of Jötunheim, Laufey Thor wanted to know how they got in and why, so he, Sif, and the Warriors Three (some of the best fighters in Asgard and Thor’s best friends) and his brother Loki went to Jötunheim. Thor explained about the battle there, and how Odin had come in and saved them.

He and his father argued inside the Bifrost, and Odin banished him to Earth. He told you all about his trip on Earth; the new friends he made, how he found his weapon, Mjölnir, and how his brother, Loki, had tried to kill him, and destroy the town he was in because of jealousy.

Loki was jealous that their father loved Thor more than himself.

During Thor’s time on Earth, Loki found out that he was adopted, and his true father was Laufey, the King of Jötunheim, making Loki a Frost Giant, and soon after Loki found out, Odin had fallen into a sort of coma.

“Convenient.” You muttered.

After defeating the robot Loki sent to destroy Thor, Thor went back to Asgard, where he and Loki battled in person, in the Bifrost. Loki turned the Bifrost onto Jötunheim, because if it stayed open long enough, it could destroy a planet.

Thor managed to destroy the Bifrost, and he and Loki almost fell into deep space.

Almost.

Odin had woken up and sensed the problem and raced to the edge of the broken bridge, grabbing Thor around his ankle, and Thor holding onto Loki’s staff, with Loki on the end of it. Loki only wanted to make his father proud of him, but Odin denied him the chance to. Loki let go and was never seen again until the next year.

Tony took over and explained what happened with the Chituari and Loki, and the Avengers and who they were. A year later, Tony said, you had been indicted into the Avengers team.

A grin spread over your face when you heard that.

He then went to the part where Loki had been sent down to Earth to serve a sentence here.

“Wait. The bad guy _JOINED_ the same team, on the same planet, he tried to rule?” You asked.

Tony chuckled, “You were like that when you heard the news.”

Tony then told you about Mary and Shane’s wedding, and how Loki saved you.

You crossed your arms.

Then he told you that you and Loki had become close friends. He told you Loki did start to become reliable on missions that he would be taken on.

Tony let Thor continue.

Thor explained about the beach day, when you and Loki were abducted by the Other, the leader of the Chitauri. He told you how you cared so much to find Loki after the Other had returned you to Earth. Thor told you how you spent a year searching for him, doing whatever you could to find him. He explained how you had these visions of him in your dreams, ever since he created a Soul Bond with you.

“A Soul Bond?” You asked.

“It’s when an Asgardian or another long living creature, creates a bond with someone else. It’s a symbol to show undying love for another.”

You put your head in your hands, thinking this over.

You had the love of a man who killed, and you loved him back.

How could you have done that?

“And I loved him back? How?”

“It’s complicated.” Tony said quickly.

“It’s actually not.” Thor said, “Loki was brainwashed when he tried to take over Earth, by a man named Thanos.”

“Man, brainwashing is the norm around here.” You said.

“Loki didn’t want to do those things. But when he came to Earth and joined the Avengers, you were a little suspicious of him, you were very cautious, but the two of you bonded over literature. At first, the two of you were rivals, but then you leant him your books, and the two of you started communicating. You became close friends, like had Tony said, then the two of you became something more.”

You let out a deep breath, “And your brother, Loki, is a prince as well?”

“Yes.”

Great. You were the girlfriend of some psychopathic prince.

“So let me get this straight. Bad guy comes to Earth and tries to take over. Bad guy loses. I find sympathy is the bad guy because he was brainwashed and I fall in love with him. There was definitely something wrong with me.”

“Don’t say that.” Tony snapped, “You were perfectly sane.”

“Then how could I— how could _ANYONE_ fall in love with the man you described?”

“Sir, I do have video evidence, if you would like me to show her.” A voice said.

“Who was that?” You asked.

“Oh, that’s Jarvis. He’s an artificial intelegence.” Tony explained, pulling out his phone and turning it sideways.

A video without sound started to play.

It was you standing next to Tony, doing a little happy dance, then stopped and gave him a kiss on the cheek before running off. The camera angle switched to you running to Thor, and him giving you a great hug and spinning you around. There were other people in the frame you didn’t recognize. In the video, Thor had set you down and crossed his arms. You were talking, soundlessly. Then one man with glasses and wavy black hair was looking in the direction of the man with black hair. Tony tapped the screen and said, “ _THAT’S_ Loki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh, not too much happened here. But hey, you're getting some answers!


	30. Emotions

 

You looked at the man in the video with the fancy green and gold armor, and you were filled with emotions.

Fear, was a main one, and the others were mixed together. The video played until Thor and Loki walked out of the frame.

Another video started; and it was you and Loki in what seemed to be a game room, playing Foosball. Loki had a triumphant smirk on his face when he scored again, and you stomped out of the camera frame.

The next video was definitely not in the same place as the others.

It was a large ballroom and the shaky camera was pointed at a man in the center, this time, the video had sound. The man was talking about global domination, when there was a voice that said,

“My, my. Now _this_ is a celebration.”

The camera quickly turned to see Loki wearing a suit and a scarf, walking towards that man in the center.

You got goosebumps hearing that voice, for some reason.

“Holy crap, that’s the guy from tv!” The camera holder said.

Loki met the man that was holding everyone hostage, then planted a kiss on his hand. Then the man was on his knees in front of Loki, saying something, but his voice was too low to hear.

Loki grinned and pulled out a dagger and stabbed him in the throat at the same time you became visible and stood next to him.

You were moving your hands in the air, controlling darkness around you, as Loki impaled the men holding the guns with daggers. The camera was moving all over the place, and a copy of you came to the table the camera was at, took out the guards, and untied people.

“I can make clones?” You asked, looking at Tony.

“Well, you could make illusions. Loki taught you that.” He said, and you looked back at his phone.

People were screaming, and the person holding the camera was running, there was a collective “get down!” and the camera whirled around to see one of the guards holding, what looked like to be a rocket launcher, pointed straight at you. Then it started to fly.

Only seconds before it hit you, Loki had tackled you down and shielded you from the blast. The camera zoomed in on the two of you; Loki was saying something, smiled, then got off of you and got back into the fight.

Tony turned off his phone.

“The two of you were friends ever since that.” Thor said.

You understood and leaned back onto the pillow.

Loki had saved your life. But then why, whenever you thought of him, you got chills?

“Until recent events.” Tony muttered, rocking on his heels.

“What do you mean?” You asked.

Thor glared at Tony and growled, “Do not twist what truly happened.”

“What am I supposed to twist?” Tony asked, “It’s plain as you and I can see; it’s black and white.”

“What is?” You asked.

“It is not so simple.” Thor said, talking over you.

“There you go again, defending him!” Tony said.

“I am setting the record straight.” Thor said.

“How about I tell her?” Bucky said loudly, grabbing their attention. “Everyone’s told me the story, so I don’t have one opinion on what happened.”

Tony sighed, “Sure.”

You looked at Bucky, and he began speaking. “First of all, I just want to let you know that I wasn’t there when this happened, I’m just mixing together what everyone has told me.”

You nodded.

“You and the others had finally found Loki, on Asgard. Apparently, he was trying to take over there like he had done on Earth. You, the Avengers and some of Thor’s friends went to Asgard. Everyone decided to pair up then split up, and you went with Clint.”

Your heart gave an extra squeeze at that name and a smile appeared on your face for some reason.

“Clint told me that the two of you were the only ones that managed to get into the castle, where Loki and the Chitauri army were. The two of you tried calling for backup, but everyone was too busy. The two of you continued on in. At some point, the two of you had split up, and you found Loki in the throne room.” Bucky said, without a trace of emotion in his voice.

“Everyone tells me the same thing, even though no one was there.”

“Then how do you know what happened?”

“We took you to the hospital, and the x-rays said it all.” Tony explained.

Bucky continued, “The x-rays show that you had a lot of damage to your head, chest, and arm, of course. So we can only assume that he beat you unconscious, to near death. They said you weren’t breathing when everyone reached you, but then a large shockwave just did enough to bring you back.”

You nodded. You looked down at your lap, trying to stop your hands from trembling.

Tony sat back down and gently took your hands in his.

“So then he cut off my arm?” You asked.

“No.” Tony said quietly. “He’s a Frost Giant, so he can freeze things. He... he froze your arm. When we got you to the hospital, there was no saving it. The doctor’s had to amputate.”

You closed your eyes and pulled away from Tony, running your hands through your hair.

“I-is that everything I need to know?”

“Yes.” Tony said.

You let out a shaky sigh. You understood everything you were just told, but then you also didn’t.

“Can I be alone for a little bit? I need to just process everything.” You asked, keeping your eyes closed.

“Yeah, of course.” Tony said, leaning in to give you a kiss on the forehead.

The three of them got up and headed for the door, opening it, then shut it behind themselves. You put your head in your hands and started to cry.

You shook your head.

How was any of this possible? You were sobbing now, uncontrollably crying, and you didn’t know why. Yes, there was this aching pain in your chest, this frozen poison that spread into your mind, but you didn’t know why.

There were so many emotions swirling inside you: hate, betrayal, sadness, longing, disgust. You covered your face with the white blanket to muffle your crying.

Why?

Why did this happen to you? None of this made sense, but yet it did. Your heart ached as you curled up on your side.

Loki.

There it was again, that hard, claustrophobic squeeze your heart gave when you thought of him. He did this to you, he made you like this, he made you feel horrible and cold inside. You saw his face again, from the videos, with that wicked grin and those green eyes sparkling with malice.

You shook your head viciously, trying to erase the picture of him in your mind.

Wait a second; what was your name? You sat up straight, trying to remember.

“Oh my god, what’s my name? What’s my name?!” You asked yourself.

Adrenaline and fear was now in your veins, and you just had to leave. You jumped out of the bed and collapsed on the floor. You pushed yourself up, forcing your legs to work, and you ran for the door, yanking it open.

“(Y/n)?” You shoved Tony out of the way and ran down the wide hall, trying to find a way out. You turned down a hall and threw open the first door, but it was only to a room. You ran farther down the bright halls, making another random turn to the left.

You slammed into a person and fell down to the hard floor, looking up at the man. He was pointing a staff at you and you screamed, pushing yourself away from him. You found your way up to your feet and turned around and ran into another person.

You screamed, pushing them away, but they had a firm grip on your wrists.

“Shh, baby. It’s me, it’s Tony.”

You opened your eyes and saw that it was indeed Tony. You fell into his arms, shaking and crying against him. He sat down on the floor, holding you against his chest, and started rocking you gently.

You wrapped your arms around him, burying your face into his neck as he rubbed your back. “It’s going to be fine... you’ll be fine... I promise.”

 

 

After you had calmed down, Tony took you to a white haired woman named Aelsa, who was the Queen of the planet you were on, Alfheim. She then gave you a new set of clothes and you went back into your room and changed. It was an ocean blue dress with a black cloak around your shoulders.

Once you were finished, you called Tony in.

He opened the door and smiled at you, “You look amazing.”

You nodded sadly. Tony closed the door and went to you when he saw you sit down on the bed and cover your face with your hands.

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong?” He sat sown next to you and wrapped an arm around your back.

“I don’t remember my name.” You sobbed.

Tony sighed, “You’re (Y/n) Stark. I’m you’re uncle. You’re twenty-five, and you’re the most amazing, and talented person I’ve ever known.”

You let out a shuddering breath, “(Y/n) Stark... That’s a pretty name.” Tony chuckled.

“You know what, when we get back to the ship, I’ll get you a notebook and you can write whatever you want in it: notes, things to remember, dreams, all that kind of stuff. Okay?”

You nodded, standing, “Okay.” You sniffled, drying your face once more, then you suddenly moved your right arm away from your face, “Wait, can this get wet?” You asked, pointing at your metal arm.

Tony stood, “Yeah. It’s all water-proof. And fire proof.”

You nodded, then looked down at the floor, fiddling with the hem of your cloak. You wanted to ask him something, but you didn’t to.

“You can tell me anything,” Tony said, as if reading your mind, “ask me anything.”

You looked back up to him, “W-when we came b-back to the room... I saw him.” A set of chills ran down your back, making you shiver and causing goosebumps to rise over your skin. When you had saw him, he was on his knees with his head in his hands.

“Will he be coming with us?”

Tony sighed, “Unfortunately, yes.”

You gasped shakily, “No, no, please...”

Tony stood and gently held your shoulders, “I swear, on my life, that I will not let him hurt you again. (Y/n), I promise.”

You swallowed.

“Thor and Bucky will also protect you, okay? Three versus one, we’ll stop whatever he tries to do, right?”

You nodded, “Right.”

He sighed, “Ready to go?”

You nodded again. He took your hand and guided you out of your room and back to the Throne Room. You saw the Queen talking to Thor and Loki, and you quickly looked away. When the two of you approached her, she bid you all farewell.

“Can’t you just, poof us back to the ship?” Tony asked the Queen.

She shook her head, “Unfortunately, I cannot.”

“Why?” Bucky asked.

“I fear it will complicate (Y/n)’s mind, since, at the moment, it is so fragile.”

“I agree.” Thor said.

“Fine. Then how do we get back to the ship?”

“By foot. Follow me.” The Queen guided you and everyone else to a table next to her throne. She pressed her slender hand on the top of he table and brought it up, making a blue hologram of a land appear.

“You will take this river to the south. Once it forks, take the left route. It should be a four day trip.”

Tony let out a tense sigh, “Okay. Four days.” He forced a smile and looked at you, “That’s nothing, right?”

You nodded, keeping your head to the ground.

“After it forks, it will take you through the city of Ice Elves. Keep following it south-west through the forest, and you will find a large clearing, and that is where your ship is.” She snapped her fingers and you jumped at the sound.

A guard came from the side of the room holding a basket, and presented it to Thor.

“There is enough food in there for all five of you, and it should last you all long as the trip.”

Thor took the basket in the hand he wasn’t holding Loki with. “Thank you, Queen Aelsa. I’ll be in your debt.”

“You’ve always been in my debt since you almost cut my hair off while I was sleeping.” She smirked, and you and Tony looked at Thor with wide eyes.

“Guards, please escort them to the edge of the village.” Three guards came from a side room and stood next to the Queen.

“Thank you so much, for everything, your majesty.” Tony said.

The Queen smiled, “Go on your way, Avengers, before it gets too dark.”

The guards moved passed you, leading all of you down the large room to the giant double doors. You held Tony’s hand comfortably in your metal one.

As they were pushed open, you looked down the halls to your left and right to see a few people milling around. The guards pushed open another set of doors and you were greeted by a gentle breeze from outside. You looked around and saw dirt roads crisscross sing in several directions, and people of all sorts noticed you and a crowd slowly formed.

You saw people covered in fur and patterns with feline faces; some people looked like the Queen with pale skin and white hair; and some people had horns. You noticed some of them had expressions of concern, anger or fear on their faces.

“Excuse me, sir!” Everyone stopped when a small child with horns sticking out of his forehead ran up to Bucky. The little boy was holding a flower with petals that changed colors.

Bucky squatted down with a smile.

“I like your arm!” The boy said, then carefully put the flower in Bucky’s hair.

“Thanks, sport.” Bucky smiled.

The little boy then ran back to his parents when the job was done.

Bucky stood and was blushing terribly as your group kept on moving.

“That was so sweet.” You said, and Bucky nodded, smiling. The act of sudden kindness from the boy made you smile, too, and you started to gently swing your arm with Tony.

You looked up at the sky; it was an amazing blue-ish green with white, puffy clouds slowly drifting across it. The guards finally led to the river and stopped, turning back to you in unison, hit the ground with the bottoms of their staffs, bowed to Thor, then returned back the way they came.

Tony held onto your hand a little tighter, “Okay. Let’s get this show on the road.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the sweet and kind comments and the kudos <3 <3 <3


	31. Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so, so sorry I couldn't get this up sooner >_

 

It was nightfall and the river had turned in to the forest. You’ve been walking for several hours when Thor suddenly stopped. “We should stop here for the night.”

You nodded, sitting down and leaning against a tree.

Tony joined you with a sigh, “Thor, pass me the basket.”

Thor handed your uncle the container of food and he flipped open the lid. He took out a food something that resembled a sandwich and offered it to Bucky, who was sitting on your left side.

“Uhh, thanks but no thanks.”

“Yeah, Tony, you could be the guinea pig.” You said, pulling your cloak around yourself in a makeshift blanket.

“Fine.” Tony said, then took a bite of the sandwich.

You and Bucky watched him as his chewing slowed, then he swallowed. Tony turned to you, “C’mon guys, it’s not poison. It’s a grilled fish sandwich. It’s still hot, so you better eat them.” He pushed the basket to you and you placed it in between you and Bucky.

You took out your sandwich and looked at it for a moment.

“Go on, try it. You liked fish.” Tony said gently.

You nodded and took a bite and found that it was absolutely _delicious_. “Oh. My. God.” You moaned, looking down at the sandwich.

“What?” Thor asked.

“This is... oh my god, it’s amazing.” You said, taking another large bite.

“Really? I think it’s okay... average.” Tony said, turning his sandwich in his hands.

“How can you say that?” You asked with a full mouth, “This is a gift.”

“Tastes normal me me.” Bucky said.

You swallowed, “I haven’t eaten something this good since...” you trailed off, brushing some hair out of your face and eating in silence.

“You know what I really love?” Thor said, “Poptarts.”

“Poptarts?” You ask.

“Yes. They’re quite delicious, and we don’t have them in Asgard.”

You smiled, finishing your sandwich and dusting your fingers off.

“Yeah. One time I had given Thor a hundred dollars to go get food. This happened when you were on a mission so you wouldn’t remem—” Tony cleared his throat, “you weren’t there. I gave him a hundred dollars, he goes to the store, and gets as many Poptarts as he can, and in all the flavors. He comes back, several bags of Poptarts in his hands, and he shows me.”

Thor chuckled, recalling the memory.

“And I was pissed. I kept telling him ‘return it and get my money back’ but he said ‘no’ like some spoiled little kid.” Tony said, sticking his tongue at Thor.

You laughed, grinning from ear to ear, then stopped when Loki suddenly stood, and you grabbed Tony’s hand. Thor grabbed the bottom of Loki’s green pleated skirt.

 _Please sit down, please sit down_ , you thought anxiously.

He turned his back to the group and Thor released him. He then walked to a tree a few yards away and sat there leaning against it.

You let out a breath, “I’m gonna get some sleep.” You laid down on the grass, using your arms as a pillow.

Tony laid down in front of your, mirroring your position. “You okay?” He asked.

You shrugged, listening to the river bubble along a couple yards away. You tangled your feet with Tony’s and you felt more relaxed.

“We used to sleep like this when you were younger.” He smiled.

“I guess old habits die hard.”

“They sure do.” Tony said, pressing a kiss to your forehead, then settling back down on the grass. “Sleep well, (Y/n).”

“You too, Tony. Night, Bucky. Night, Thor.” You said, closing your eyes. You got ‘goodnight’ from the two other boys as you listened to the sounds of the river and the forest, lulling you to sleep.

 

 

_There was screaming all around you. God, the screaming. There were sounds of explosions all around you. You covered your ears, trying to block out the sounds of the people you couldn’t help._

_“What do you want from me?!” You screamed._

_“For you to kneel.”_

_You turned to face the voice and got a hard kick to your stomach, and you flew backwards, landing in thick water. You scrambled to get up as the splashing footsteps got closer, he made a sudden movement and you brought your arms up to shield yourself just as he threw a dagger at you, imbedding itself into your hand, making you scream._

_“You were made to be ruled.” He said, stalking up to you. You pulled the dagger out of your hand, then dropped it. You balled your hands into fists and looked up to glare at him._

_He grabbed you by your shoulders and you landed a solid punch to his face, making him stagger backwards. You ran after him and elbowed him in the face, then bringing your knee swiftly in his stomach. You threw a punch, which he blocked, then ran at him, tackling him to the ground. You sat on top of him, punching him in the face with tears running down yours. He caught your fists with his hands, and you screamed, trying to pull them free._

  
“(Y/n)!” Tony wrapped his arms around you and you opened your eyes as he pulled you off of Bucky.

You stopped struggling as you realized what was going on. Bucky quickly sat up, looking at you. In the glow of the moonlight, you could see his face glistening with blood.

You screamed and covered your face with your hands, pushing yourself away with the heels of your feet against Tony’s chest behind you.

“No, no, no, (Y/n). I’m fine. It’s okay, I’m fine.” Bucky said, going over to you.

Tony held you in hug, gently rocking you.

You shook your head violently, crying.

“No, I _promise_ (Y/n), I’m fine. I’ve been through worse.” Bucky said, trying to comfort you.

You sobbed into your hands, feeling disgusted with yourself. Tony stroked your head as Bucky spoke again, “I used to have nightmares, too. Horrible, just like yours. When Steve found me after being with Hydra, he helped me. I would get up in the middle of the night, screaming and fighting him until I finally woke up. My instincts— _our_ instincts, are telling us to fight, and we’re just doing that. I couldn’t control it... but with Steve’s help, he made me better. And you’ll get better, too.”

“W-will you h-h-help me?” You sobbed.

“Of course.” He said.

You tried to regain control over your breathing, “I’m so s-sorry, Bucky.”

“It’s alright, doll.”

You heard an aggressive ‘Loki!’ come from Thor and you whimpered.

“(Y/n), give me your left hand.” Tony said softly.

You carefully brought it away from your face and gave it to Tony, who sucked in a breath.

“What?” You asked, panicking.

“You cut your palm on a rock when you fell into the river, you’re going to be fine.” Tony explained, covering your hand with his and putting pressure on it, “Buck, did you notice if there were any napkins or something in the basket?”

“I’ll check.” He said, getting up. Your heart was still racing and your nightmare was fresh in your mind, making you shake with fear.

Tony held you closer to his chest, “It was about him?” You nodded, sniffling.

Bucky came back with a large napkin and knelt down.

“Perfect.” Tony said. He removed his hand from yours, saying quietly, “Let’s wash off some of the blood.” Then gently brought your hand under the water and cleaning your arm and wrist. He took your arm out of the water, took the napkin from Bucky and started wrapping it firmly around your wound. He tied the loose ends together into a knot and gently tapped his lips to it in a kiss.

“Let’s get out of the water.” He said, standing and pulling you up with him. You were shaking from the cold now, and your dress was completely soaked. You wiped the tears from your face and sniffled.

You vaguely heard Tony saying that they needed to make a fire as you stepped away from the shore, your dress dragging along the grass.

“You need fire?” Thor asked.

“Yeah,” Bucky said, grabbing a few sticks, “but I’ve got it—”

Thor raised Mjölnir to the sky and you watched in amazement as blue electricity traveled around the hammer. Tony wrapped an arm around you protectively, “Thor, wait—” you watched wide-eyed as the blonde man brought down his hammer, aiming it at a tree, then a bolt of lightning struck it, making it explode and burst into flames.

“Holy shit!” Bucky said, gripping onto you when you filched terribly, crashing backwards into him.

“Sorry, sorry.” You said.

He shook his head, “You’re fine.”

You pulled away and turned around to face the tree. “Woah.” You breathed.

Thor grabbed Loki and the basket and made his way over to the burning tree.

Tony shook his head and muttered, “Always goes for the more grand option.”

You followed him over to where your cloak was strewn on the ground, then continued forward to the burning tree, sitting several feet away from Thor. You embraced the heat from the fire, pulling your knees up and resting your chin on them.

Tony sat next to you and warmed his hands. You stared into the fire, watching the orange, red, and yellow colors flicker and change shape. “Thanks, Thor.” You said, not looking at him. Bucky sighed and sat down next to you, and you turned away from him. How could you? You barely know him, and you start beating him up. You whimpered, pressing your face against your knees.

“When Steve found me,” Bucky began, “I was a mess. It took me a few months to regain my memories, to become who I was.” You looked at him. “When I was with Hydra... when I was the Winter Soldier... I was a bad man. I was a ruthless killer.” He paused, taking a deep breath and looking up at the night sky. “Like I had said, they brainwashed me, and turned me into a monster.”

“You’re not a monster.” You said firmly. Why did saying that feel so familiar?

Bucky gave a weak smile, then looked into the fire. “Thanks. But... but sometimes I still feel like my past will catch up to me.” He said, giving a quick glance to Tony on his right, who was laying on his back, asleep.

“As the Winter Soldier, I was an assassin. I had no free will, and I was made to kill. Rulers, innocents, people that could help the world. That part of me was still in me when I met Steve again. But he helped me jog my memories back, helped me cope with the nightmares, and was there for me.”

“Are you two together?” You asked.

Bucky chuckled, blushing, “Maybe one day. But we do love each other, a lot.”

You suddenly felt jealous, you wanted someone to love you like that, too.

“It’s going be a long road, (Y/n), and it won’t be easy. There will be days you don’t want to get out of bed, or just want to leave and be alone. But you’ll get through this.” He looked at you, “Everyone tells me that you’re really strong and brave, and I really think you can get through this.”

You smiled, “Thank you, Bucky.”

He nodded once.

You let the silence go on, watching the fire crackle. “I’m not gonna go back to sleep tonight.” You said after a while.

“I know.” Bucky said.

You fiddled with some grass that was singed.

“I’m staying up, too. So you don’t have to worry.”

You swallowed and looked at him, “No, no, if you want to sleep, you can.”

He shook his head, “I’m not too good at sleeping, especially in a strange or new place.” You nodded, “Okay.”

Then the two of you watched the fire burn.

 

 

Loki watched you out of the corner of his eyes, reading yours and Bucky’s lips.

“Leave their conversation private, Loki.” Thor said, sitting up and frowning.

“Why?” Loki asked, turning to the blonde man, “He shouldn’t even be talking to her, comforting her. That should be me.”

“I know you care for her, Loki. But did you not see what just happened? She had a night terror, and we both know who she was truly fighting.”

Loki sighed, pulling out a handful of grass angrily.

“It’s not fair.” He growled.

“Who said life was fair?” Thor asked.

“Odin did.” Loki snapped, “But I suppose that was another lie, that fairness comes to everyone, not only the heroes of the story.”

Thor sighed heavily, rubbing his face with his hand, “Loki, you need to work with the things life has given you, if you don’t, nothing will go your way.”

Loki growled, looking at you and Bucky again.

“Loki, you need to give her and Tony time. She doesn’t remember anything, she’s confused and frightened—”

“Of me.”

Thor didn’t bother denying that, “She already knows about her past feelings towards you and your feelings for her,” Loki looked up, intrigued, “and I’m sure she’s having a hard time sifting through all the the information we’ve given her, so you need to take a step back from her life.”

“But—”

“If you truly love her, you need to take a step back. For her own good.” Thor said.

Loki gritted his teeth and balled his fists. He wanted you to get better, Norns, he wished nothing more than your happiness and health. But did he really have to do what Thor was saying?

Loki let out a huff and laid down on the ground, glaring up at the night sky. He closed his eyes, letting out a slow sigh, “Okay.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor you... Will anything be the same again between you and Loki?


	32. Alluring

 

You stayed up through the entire night, watching the tree crumble, smolder, then go out. It could have been possible that you had fallen asleep with your eyes open, but you weren’t sure if you did that.

From your view between the trees, you saw the sun start to emerge, casting thin orange rays onto the ground. You stood, stretching your arms over your head and letting out a yawn. You lowered your arms, looking down at Bucky. He had just gone to sleep a few hours ago.

You stepped around the blackened tree; Thor and his brother was asleep. You looked at Loki.

You had really thought you were fighting him last night. You looked at his sleeping face. It was expressionless, and you could only imagine how quick it could turn into that chilling grin of his.

You turned away from him, heading towards the river. You looked down at your dress, which was mostly dry, then knelt down to the edge of the river and cupped some water in your hands, splashing it in your face. You let out a sigh as you wiped the excess off, and you looked around the forest, unsure.

This was your second day of being out of your coma, and so many things hit you like a train, but you still felt like something was missing, and when you tried to figure out what, you only got sad.

You looked down into the water and saw your reflection. You had short, (color) hair that just reached your shoulders. Your had some light scars on your face, and you traced them with your hand. (Y/n) Stark... you made a connection with that name and your face, and it felt right. When you had put on your dress yesterday, you had noticed some light scars on your body as well. One that had caught your eye was this oval shaped one on the side of your stomach.

“(Y/n)?” You quickly got up and turned around. “Oh, hi Thor.”

He smiled, walking over to you, then stopping half way. “What are you doing up so early?” He asked.

“I never went to sleep.” You said. You looked at the large hammer he held.

Thor saw your gaze and he lifted his weapon, “It’s called Mjölnir.” He walked over to you and held it out for you to touch.

“Meow mew?” You asked.

“Myol-near.” He accentuated.

You repeated it as you stroked the hammer. “Could I hold it?” You asked, looking at it.

Thor paused before saying, “O-of course.” He turned the hilt to you and you grabbed it.

Thor let go and you were instantly pulled down by the weight, and it landed with a thud. “It’s really heavy.” You chuckled, adjusting your hand to lift it. You grunted, trying to lift it, but it only budged an inch.

“Really heavy.” You smiled.

You let go of the hilt and took a step back. Thor picked it back up with ease.

“Easier for you, you’re like a body-builder.” You smiled, poking his arm.

He chuckled, “Yes, there is a some-what advantage.”

You chuckled as well, turning to your group and you saw Loki standing there, looking at you and Thor.

You gasped a little when you made eye contact, then turned your back on him. “We— we should probably get going.” You said, feeling Loki’s gaze on your back.

 

 

It was a little before noon when you got to the fork in the river, and turned left. You looked into the river, seeing colorful fish swimming near the surface before going back down to the bottom. Thor led the way, and he walked backwards to face you, Bucky, and Tony.

“There are Mer folk in the area. Specifically here. The ones we’ll run into are the ones that live in colder temperatures, and have more darker intentions than the Mer folk that live in the warmer climates.” Thor looked into the water, then back to you three, “They will try to manipulate you into going into the water with them. They shape into people you know and care about. Do not look into their eyes, they can read your mind that way.”

You looked into the blue water that seemed a little more darker, then focused your attention on the path ahead. You held up your dress as you walked over roots and ducked under the branches.

Bucky caught your eye and he slowed down to walk beside you. “How’re you holding up?” He asked.

“Better. How’s your face?” Your eyes skimmed over his cheek and forehead that had bruises.

“It’s fine.”

There was a sudden splash in the river and you looked over to see three speckled tails dive under the water.

“Tony!” You grabbed his hand and pointed to the water, just in time for him to see a trio of fins slip under the water.

“Remember: do not look them in the eye.” Thor said.

“But how can I _not_ look? They’re _mermaids_.” You whispered to Tony.

“I know, I know...” Tony said, glancing quickly at the water.

“Yoohoo!” A voice said, coming from the water. You resisted the urge to look.

“Over here!” A different voice said.

You focused on walking over the roots and around the trees.

“Look at what we have here, the Princes of Asgard. Whoops! I should say ‘Prince’ of Asgard.” The first voice said, followed by a splash.

“They will say anything to get you to look at them. It’s best to ignore them.” Thor said, looking back to you.

“Ignoring us? That’s quite rude. I never thought they’d teach rudeness in the royal castle.” The second voice said, them continued, “I know you want to look, girlie.”

You kept your head down.

“You _all_ want to look. The three of you aren’t from here, or Asgard. Shall we guess?”

“Hmm, maybe Vanahiem?” The third voice asked, “No, maybe Midgard?”

You didn’t know who, but someone had made some sort of reaction, signaling to the mermaids that that was correct.

“Yes! Midgardians! We’ve never seen one before.”

And they all swam to the edge of the water closest to you.

“How could they say that if their queen looks so similar to us? And Asgardians.”

You whispered to Tony.

“Midgardians _and_ Loki Odinson, what an ironic picture.”

“You know what, the Midgardians are probably their cattle.” The first mermaid said, then slapped the surface of the water with her tail.

 _We’re not cattle_ , you thought angrily, glaring at Loki’s back.

“Ooh, we made the girlie mad.” The second one giggled.

You looked at the ground, ducking under a branch.

“Hey, that’s rude.” The first mermaid said in a mock voice, “you know Midgardians are very sensitive. Especially when they _are_ enslaved.”

You balled your fists.

“Don’t let them get to you. They aren’t even in the ballpark of what’s actually true.” Bucky whispered.

“I know.” You said with gritted teeth.

“Ooh, intimate whispers. Girlie, are you with Mr. Hot-And-Rugged?” The first mermaid asked.

You blushed madly, trying to ignore them.

“Well, who wouldn’t?” The third mermaid said.

Thor grabbed Loki’s arm in a firm grip. “Looks like Loki doesn’t like that.” The second mermaid said, “Girlie, have you had any offspring from this relationship?”

“That’s enough!” Tony said, marching passed you and to the water and glaring at them. You tried to pull him away from the water, but you were too late. The second mermaid changed her form; she now had long, strawberry red, straight hair. Freckles spotted her shoulders, and she had blue eyes.

“Pepper Potts, huh?” She asked, even her voice changed. You quickly looked away, and grabbed Tony’s arm, pulling him back into the trees, which he reluctantly followed.

“I’m sorry.” Tony said quietly, as the group started moving.

“It’s fine, it wasn’t affecting me anyways.” You said, glancing at Bucky, who was now on your right and his face was red.

Tony looked at you skeptically.

“Hey, I’ve changed too! The third mermaid said, feeling left out. That voice sounded familiar...

“Well, this looks like a predicament, Mr. Hot-and-Rugged.”

“I didn’t look, I swear.” Bucky said.

“What?” You asked, trying to carefully glimpse the third mermaid; the had (y/color/length) hair...

Thor’s hand moved up to grip the back of Loki’s neck. The man in green and gold had his hands in fists that were shaking.

“A love triangle, oh those are filled with dra-ma!” The mermaid with now red hair said.

“Does she really look like her?” You quietly asked Tony.

“Splitting image. Even sounds like her, too. When we get back to the ship we can face-call the others so you can meet them.” There was a large splash in the water.

“Loki, who would have thought you would have fallen for an immortal? But then again, you’re full of surprises, Laufeyson.”

The group stopped again when Loki ripped Thor off of him, and stomped to the edge of the water. “How do you know that?!” He demanded furiously.

You took a step back, your heart racing.

“Word travels fast when a prince goes to another world and slaughters people.”

“And then goes back to their ‘home’ and tries to take over there, too.” Said the third mermaid, the only one who hadn’t changed.

You finally saw the mermaid you recognized: it was you.

You swallowed, taking another step back and tripping over a root. You caught yourself when you fell, causing the pain in your hand to flare up.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Tony asked. He followed your gaze to the mermaid who looked exactly like you.

“Let’s keep moving.” Tony said, taking your hand and guiding you around Thor.

“(Y/n)!” The mermaid that looked like you said, swimming to keep up with you, Tony and Bucky.

“(Y/n), don’t leave him! He loves you!”

You covered your ears, walking faster. _Stop, stop, please stop_ , you thought. _Loki couldn’t love me... I don’t want it_. But somehow thinking that felt wrong. Why couldn’t you make up your mind?!

Do you like him or not?

Are you afraid of him or not?

You let out a frustrated scream and veered off into the forest, away from the river. You heard your name called out, followed by the sound of footsteps running behind you.

Run.

That’s all what your brain was telling you; just to run.

You were panting, then suddenly the ground gave way you let out a scream as you fell into a hole. You quickly stood up, brushing the dirt out of your face, looking upwards. The hole was almost big enough for you to stretch your arms, but small enough to make you claustrophobic.

You jumped, trying to reach the top, but you were a few inches too low. “Oh god, why, why?” You whimpered. You were shaking with fear, and you jumped one more time; to no use. Just as you getting ready to scream for help, you saw Tony and Bucky’s face appear.

“Are you okay, (Y/n)?” Tony asked.

“Just get me out of here!” You pleaded.

The two men laid down flat on the edge of the hole and lowered their arms down. With your right arm, you grabbed Bucky’s left, and you grabbed onto Tony’s right. They pulled you out and you kicked against the wall, helping.

You scrambled onto the solid ground, breathing hard. Tony was sitting behind you, rubbing your arms. Your eyes stung as you stared at the ground, opening and closing your fists them repeatedly. You saw Thor and Loki’s boots enter the corner of your vision, and you turned away from them.

“Do you what to talk about it?” Bucky asked.

“No!” You said, the tears running from your eyes. You put your head in your hands, letting out a deep breath, “I just want things back to the way they were. I want my memories back.”

Everyone looked at each other.

“We’ll help you get them back. I promise.” Tony said, “If they don’t come back naturally, with the type of universe we live in, I’m sure we can get someone to bring them back. They’re just... locked away for the moment.” You nodded, taking a deep breath, then letting it out slowly.

“Another way to get back to your memories, is to listen to your gut instincts.”

“But my instincts told me to run.” You explained.

“Okay, then. When you wanna run, we can run. When you want to fight, you can fight with Bucky, because to be honest, you’ll beat me into a pulp with your arm.”

You and Tony chuckled.

You and your uncle stood up, “I’m s—” “It’s fine.” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder, “Nothing to apologize for.” He said quietly.

Your group started walking again, but no where near the river this time. Your heart was starting to calm down somewhat, but your nerves were still on fire.

“Can you tell me a story about me?” You asked, trying to distract your mind.

Tony thought for a minute, “Okay. You were five. We were living in Minnesota, and it was winter. We had a skating rink in the backyard, and I was trying to teach you to ice skate, but with you being five,” Tony stepped over a root, “you weren’t so good. I was trying to teach you to balance, but you would _not_ let go. I was trying to get you to stand, then we both fell over; with you on top of me, luckily. What was really unlucky, is when you were getting off of me, you socked me right in the crotch.”

You winced out loud, and Tony grinned.

You shook your head, smiling, “Sorry.”

You let your laugh die out then looked at Tony, “What’s my favorite song?”

He had a sudden look of dread, then his face went blank, “It was... it was a tie, I think, between several songs. You liked most genres, except House Music. You _hate_ House Music.” You smiled.

 “Hold on,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket. He unlocked it and went into iTunes, “Here’s your playlist.” He smiled. He tapped the screen, and then a small triangle, and the music started to play.

“This one’s ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ by Justin Timberlake.” He told you.

The beat was funky, and you liked it. You smiled as the man started to sing, and man could he sing. This song made you want to jump up and down from happiness, and that’s how the rest of the songs on the playlist made you feel. Even if they were somewhat sad, they made you happy. You remained in that state as you continued to travel south-west, until the sun was low and Thor decided to stop for the night.

You sighed as Tony put his phone back into his pocket. You sat on the ground, watching Thor sit soon after. You looked at your hands on your lap; one (skin color) and the other, silver that glittered in the setting sun. You ran your hand over you're metal one, gently bending the fingers backwards until they couldn’t.

You turned your hand over to look at your palm, and you traced the small gaps where the pieces of metal would meet. You looked up at Bucky, who was sitting against a tree in front of you, “Bucky, with your metal arm, can you feel things? Like if your arm got broken, would you feel the pain?”

He crossed his legs, “No. But for me, and what I’ve done and do, it’s a good thing. It`s one less limb to worry about if you’re out on a mission. For example... you’re saving these group of people from a person with a bomb. They set it off, and the building starts to cave in, and a beam falls down, blocking the exit. The only way to get out is if you could move that beam. If Tony gave you super-strength—”

“I did.” He said and Bucky continued, “You move the beam, and save the people. I don’t think anyone could do that without a biotic whatever. Unless you’re a god.” He nodded to Thor.

That suddenly struck you, and you looked to Tony on your left, “When we get back home, will I go on missions?”

“No!” He said quickly, and Thor looked at him. “No.” He said calmly.

Unfairness flared up inside you, and you frowned, “But on missions you get to save people. I want to do that.”

“No, (Y/n). You’re in this situation now because I didn’t put my foot down and said ‘no’ when the offer was given to you.”

“No!” You said, and everyone looked at you. “You said that before; that all of this is your fault and I’m not believing it! You said I’m smart, yes?”

“Yes.” Tony said.

“So then I’m sure I knew the consequences and outcomes to having a job like I did.”

Tony sighed, scratching the back of his head, then he laid down with his back turned to you.

“You can’t make all of my decisions, Tony.”

“Yes, I can, if the decisions are about you living or dying.”

“Well maybe I would like to save people instead of being saved, for once.” You grumbled.

“Excuse me?” Tony rolled over to face you.

“Drop it, Tony.” Bucky said.

“I said that I would like to be saving people instead of being saved.” You snapped, “I want to stop feeling weak and start _helping_ people. God, Tony, you don’t know what I’m going through.”

Tony sat up and pointed at himself, “I don’t know what you’re going through? I don’t know what you’re going through?!”

“No, you don’t!”

“Every goddamn day you were in that coma, I felt helpless! I could do _nothing_! The doctors didn’t know if you were going to wake up, until some miracle happened and we’re here!”

“That’s not the same thing!” You screamed, pressing your hands to the sides of your head, “You don’t know what it’s like to try to think, and have absolutely _nothing_ come up. You don’t know that sickening feeling you get in your stomach when you momentarily forget your name! You don’t know how it feels to get these random feelings when you hear someone's name, and not know why they mean something to you!” You stood up, breathing hard, “Or to get chills because of a person’s voice...” You shook your head, staring at the ground.

And just as sudden as your outburst started, you walked off towards the river. You ignored the scrambling of leaves and clothing, crossing your arms and keeping your head down. You looked down at the shiny river, you sniffled and kicking a few pebbles into the water. You huffed angrily, glaring at the water.

You looked behind you when you heard footsteps and saw Bucky.

You looked back at the water.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him bend down, pick up a stone, then toss it across the river where it skipped four times before sinking. You sat down on a patch of grass, resting your head on your knees, watching him pick up another stone. You watched him crouch, pull his arm back and toss the second stone.

Your eyes stung as you looked straight ahead, letting out a shuddering sigh.

You noticed with every stone he picked up, he moved closer to you.

“Stop.” You said.

He looked down at you.

“I just want to be silent for a minute, okay?” You asked.

“Sure.” Bucky sat down a few feet away from you, looking up at the sky.

You scratched your shin through your dress, then wrapped it around your legs. The night had this calming affect on your and you treasured it.

You looked up at the ebony night sky; it was littered with hundreds of thousands of stars and bright pink, purple and green galaxies. You sighed laying on your back, feeling the cool earth.

“Is Tony always like that?” Bucky shrugged, “I don’t know. When I became part of the team he was just happy and excited. I’ve never seen him in any other emotion, well, he was sad and butted heads sometimes, but I’ve never seen him mad. I guess that was partially because of this.” He said, lifting his left arm.

You hummed in understanding. You rubbed your hands together nervously, “I don’t want to feel scared or be weak anymore. I...” You sighed, looking at him, “I want to be me again. And I feel like helping and saving people is me.”

“I know. And if you feel that way, you need to do it.”

“Okay.” You said. A soft breeze rolled over you, causing the leaves to fall from trees.

“Come back over to the others.” He said gently.

Thinking of Tony made your skin squirm and make you angry. You shook your head, “No. I’ll stay here.”

Bucky nodded, then laid down on his back. You closed your eyes, focusing on the sound of the river flowing and swishing against the shore. Very slowly, you were able to relax enough to fall asleep.

 

 

When you woke up you didn’t realize that you hadn’t fallen asleep, the only proof was that the sun was just barely starting to rise.

You sat up and rubbed your eyes, then rested your head on your hand, staring at Bucky, who was curled up on his side facing you. You scratched the back of your head then stopped dead cold when you looked to your right.

Loki was crouched at the edge of the river, dipping his hands in the water then running his hand through his hair. You watched him lower his hands back into the water and run them over his face.

Why were you watching him?

He turned in your direction and the two of you locked eyes. He started to get up, but you said, “Wait!” And he slowly sat back down.

_What am I thinking?_

You got up and moved over, sitting right next to him. You looked into the water, then took a deep breath and hesitantly looked at him. He had a few remaining drops of water on his pale face and he wiped them away. What are you doing?

You grabbed his chin, keeping him looking at you. You loosened your grip on him and stroked his jawline with your thumb.

Your instincts were telling you so many contradicting things, and you choked back a sob.

He closed his eyes and swallowed loudly. You brought your other hand up to cradle the side of his face, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

You didn’t know why you were doing any of this, and it felt... you didn’t know what it felt like.

“Please.” You asked, and he pressed his lips together as his tears slipped down his face.

“I’m— I’m sorry.” He said quietly, his voice shaking. You let out a squeak when you tried to get rid of the lump of your throat. “C-can you... open your eyes?” You asked, running your metallic fingertips along his hairline.

He let out a breath and you saw his eyes. They were red and puffy with tears, but you were taken aback at the intensity of green they were. You felt suddenly warmer, looking into those eyes, even though how devastated they looked. You wanted that warmth to stay with you forever, but then you recounted who you were looking at, and your mind changed.

But then why were you gently tracing your fingers along his eyebrow?

“Y-you will never be able to u-u-understand how remorseful I am.” He sobbed.

Hearing his voice catch made the tears form in your eyes. You ran your fingers down his nose, then gently brushing your fingers against his lips. His sobbing calmed down quickly and he watched you, surprised.

You ran your thumb over his thin, pink lips that parted slightly with each of his heaves.

They were so soft... what if...?

You realized that you had been leaning in when both of your noses brushed against each other. You glanced into his eyes, then back down to his lips.

 _What do I want_? You asked yourself. _Loki_ , you concluded, but another part of you quickly decided no, and you stopped, your lips mere millimeters away from his.

Your heart was racing; were you really going to go through with this?

You let out a shaky breath, and you did the hardest thing you thought you could ever do: you kissed him.

You hated that him kissing you back felt so familiar, yet you lavished in the feeling of lightness you had. When you broke apart, you felt sad and confused, so you kissed him again, trying to figure out what you were feeling.

His mouth moved slowly against yours, caressing you. You started to cry as well when he moved his hands up to cover yours. He was being unimaginably gentle to you, and you didn’t know why.

Loki pulled away and sniffled, asking, “Do you want to sto—” but you cut him off by pressing your lips to his again and kissing him with more force, and he reciprocated.

You felt longing and happiness, and fear and comfort and doubt. The tears flowing down your cheeks mingled with his, and you moved your hands to comb through his wet, black hair. He moved his hands to hesitantly cup your face, stroking your hair back.

He lowered his hand, then suddenly pulled away, and you opened your eyes to see him staring behind you. You quickly turned around and saw Bucky standing there, confused and worried.

“Bucky, please.” You sobbed, letting go of Loki and running to the other man. “Please don’t tell Tony. I-I know it was a mistake. _Please_ don’t tell Tony.”

Was it a mistake?

“I won’t, (Y/n). I promise. Are you okay?”

You ignored his question by wrapping your arms around him and crying into his chest.

He held you with one arm and stroked your head with his other hand. He look down at you and then to Loki, who was still on his knees with his face buried in his hands, his shoulders shaking.

Bucky gently shushed you, moving his hand down to rub your back.

Bucky looked back from Loki, then to you, and he was sure he had just witnessed the most heart-breaking kiss in the history of anything.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cries* ahhhh, why won't things go right for you?


	33. Seperated But Protected

 

Thor and Tony awoke soon after. You all ate breakfast in a quiet circle, then decided to get moving. After a while, you started to notice that the trees were placed farther and farther from each other, and the temperature started to get colder. As your group continued to follow the river, Tony confronted you about why your eyes were red, and you simply said, “I just needed a good cry.” And he accepted that with a nod.

You continued to walk in silence until Tony spoke, disturbing your thoughts. “I’m sorry about our argument last night. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“Thank you.” You said.

“I just want to explain _why_ I said no.” Tony took a deep breath, “I love you. _So much_. You probably have no idea how much. And I just want to protect you. You don’t know how bad the world is, and how many monsters are in it. I’m sure you’ve seen the scars on yourself, and wondered how you got them. You were helping people. You took the bullet, multiple times, for your family or civilians— and I am _proud_ of you for that. But you just don’t know what it’s like.”

You wanted to speak up, but you kept your mouth shut.

“You don’t remember what it’s like to have someone you love in danger. We were hardly put on any missions together because we both agreed that it would be safer, and for whoever was out would know that the other was home, safe. And if you try going on missions now, I will say no because you don’t remember and you’ll hit the ground running, and not in a good way. It’s terrifying.”

“Then why do you do it?” You asked.

“To protect you and people who can’t protect themselves.”

“But then why can’t I?”

He sighed, “When you get your memories back, you can.”

You grabbed his arm, “Promise?”

He looked at you in the eye, “I promise.”

“Okay.” You let go of him and faced forward.

You stared at Loki’s back for a few seconds, then looked away and swallowed. You glanced at Bucky, who was walking on Tony’s other side, then looked back to Thor.

Was Bucky going to tell?

You were mentally wringing your hands. You knew what you did was wrong, but then why did you do it? You lifted your hand up to your mouth, gently brushing your fingers over where Loki’s lips had been, and you instantly got a hot tingling in your stomach. You lowered your hand, why was your body reacting this way if your mind was telling you no? You sighed. If Tony was going to find out, shouldn’t you be the one to tell him?

The terrain started to slant at a downward angle, and you held onto a few trees to support you. Thor was a few yards ahead and he stopped and held out his hand for you to stop.

“Cliff.” He simply said. You slowed down and took more careful steps, following the route of the river as it went to where Thor and Loki were, then dropped out of sight. The closer you got, the louder the roaring of the waterfall. You stopped a few feet away from the edge, looking out at the view; as far as the eye could see, everything was white. In the distance, you saw large, pale blue spires and what looked like to be buildings.

“Pretty steep.” Bucky said, “Pretty far down. Might take a while.”

You looked down; there were cliff holds of all sizes and shapes. You focused your gaze farther down to the lake below, and all of your fears of Tony finding out about your kiss were replaced with fears of heights. You swallowed, then watched Tony kneel down and opened a suitcase that you noticed for the first time.

“Me and (Y/n) are going to take the faster route.” Tony said, he got up and stood back. The suitcase made a clicking sound, then unlocked the pieces from each other, transforming into a human sized red and gold suit of armor.

“(Y/n), this is Mark forty-five, the forty-fifth Iron Man suit I’ve invented.” Tony said. It opened up and Tony stepped backwards into it, standing on the inside of the suit, then it closed with him inside. The horizontal slits for eyes glowed blue and Tony approached you.

“Wow.” You breathed, grinning. You looked him up and down; the metal was sleek and shiny. “This can fly,” Tony said, a speaker in the face transmitting his voice, “So I’m gonna fly the two of us down.” He turned to Bucky, “If you guys need any help, I’ll fly you down.”

Bucky nodded, looking over the edge. “Ready, Nightlight?” Tony asked, looking at you.

“Uh, y-yeah.” You said nervously. Tony wrapped his arms around you in a tight grip, and you held onto him around his neck.

“Three,” he counted, “two, one.” The rockets at the bottom of his feet exploded into action and the two of you shot up into the air.

You had let out a little scream, holding onto Tony tighter, feeling the wind whip through your hair and clothes as Tony made a sharp dip downwards.

“I’ve got you you.” He said, turning so that the to of you were facing straight up and down, then slowly lowered the two of you to the ground, his metal boots making a thud.

“You okay?” He asked as you let go of him and sat down. You let out a shaky breath, nodding.

“That was pretty terrifying.” You said, pressing your hand against your chest to feel how fast your heart was beating. “But I’m sure when I look back on this in an hour it will be amazing.”

The mask opened upward and you saw Tony’s grinning face. He turned toward the cliff and you matched his view, watching the three men start to climb down the cliff. You sighed, then looked back at Tony and said, “You called me ‘Nightlight’ up there.” He turned to you, then sat down (with some struggle) next to you.

“That was my nickname for you. Remember when we were back at the castle and I told you that you had powers to control darkness?” You nodded and wrapped your arms around yourself, suddenly aware of the cold. “When you were twenty, you had finally told me that you had powers you said you had them ever since you were a kid. A few days after you told me about you having powers I came up with that nickname for you. You know what a nightlight is, right?”

“Yeah.” You said, “I know what common things are, like how to use and what a toaster is, or how to brush my teeth, repetitive stuff, but not people or specific things.” You finished quietly.

“Okay. ‘Nightlight’ was your nickname because you always had a bright soul; you were always happy. And you could control this darkness around you, so you were like a nightlight.”

You smiled, “That’s really sweet.” Tony grinned at the ground. You looked back at the cliff, then back into your lap. You shook your shoulders, loosening the pain you were getting in your neck. You looked at Tony, who now was watching the three scale down the side of the cliff.

You wanted to tell him, but how would he react?

“ _Tony, I kissed Loki.”_

 _“What?!” He would say, “How could you? After what he’s done to you?_ ”

Or he could take it calmly, he could remove Loki from your vicinity, and you could stop feeling these things you were feeling...

You swallowed your fear, “Tony? Can I ask—”

“They’re taking too long. I’ll be right back, then we can continue to talk, okay?”

You nodded mutely, watching Tony shut his helmet and fly to the cliff. You stood, watching him pluck Bucky off and place him next to you, then went back for the two other men.

“Scary, right?” You asked nervously, and Bucky nodded, wringing his hands, and you watched his breaths come put in white puffs.

When the five of you were together, you started following the river again. Tony walked beside you, “You wanted to tell me something?”

“I...” You looked from Loki to Bucky and said, “I really liked that talk with you.”

“So did I.” He said, smiling at you. Then you felt something sharp and cold press against your back, and you immediately stopped, your eyes wide.

Tony and Bucky stopped as well, turning to you. “What’s wrong?” Tony asked, making Thor and Loki stop and face you. You could feel the tip of the blade twisting against your skin and you sucked in a breath. There was very obviously someone with a sword pressing the tip against you, and for some reason the others weren’t acknowledging it.

“So sorry to do this,” a gravelly voice behind you said, and at the same time the others were just as surprised as you were, and they suddenly became angry. The sword on your back was quickly removed, and the was a rough grasp on your hair. “I know, I know. It’s very cliché. Go after the girl, get to the one you want, but it works.”

What the hell kind of villain was this? You tried to turn, but the hand only gripped you harder.

“So. I want Loki in ex—” Loki marched right up to the person behind you, and your skin prickled with him being so close.

“Well, that was easy.” The voice said.

“You have me. Now let her go.” Loki said coldly.

“But it won’t be that easy.” You heard a solid thud and saw Thor raise Mjölnir to the sky, a large sack was thrown to them, then exploded unto a blue gas which made your eyes feel heavy with sleep, and the next thing you knew was that you were falling.

 

 

You were laying on your side when you slowly woke up. Sunlight bled through your eyes and you winced, drawing backwards and underneath the warm blankets. You stopped and sighed, rubbing your shoulders against the smooth, warm object behind you. You felt an arm wrap around your waist, tugging you closer, and you suddenly realized that you weren’t where you were before.

You opened your eyes and removed the blanket from you, then screamed and pulled it back on when you saw that you were completely naked. You jumped out of the bed and tripped on the blanket, hitting the wall and letting out a groan, and making the other occupant of the bed fall onto the other side with a yelp. You looked around the room, it was painted a light green, and you spotted a door just as Loki stood up holding a blanket around his waist.

“(Y/n), wait, calm down.” You were terrified. There Loki was, in a room with you with only a sheet wrapped around his waist. What was going on? You gathered you blanket in your hands and made a run for the door just as it started to open, but Loki beat you to it and slammed it shut, then it melted into a flat wall. “Why did you do that?” You asked, backing away from him.

“You wouldn’t want to see what is behind that door. You’re not ready.” He said sadly, sliding his hand off of the wall.

“Did we have sex?” You asked nervously.

“No, just let me explain.”

“I need to get out of here.” You said, seeing the windows and climbing onto the bed them kicking the lamp off of the nightstand, and getting on that. “(Y/n), be careful, please.” He asked, coming up behind you.

You tried punching the window, but to no use.

“(Y/n), you’re dreaming. This isn’t real.”

“Stay away from me!” You said, jumping onto the bed and crossing it to go to the other nightstand, and getting on top of that.

“Please.” He said, and you could hear the begging in his voice, “I won’t hurt you.”

You lowered your fist from the glass then got off and stood on the bed, covering your face with your same hand. You hated how you somewhat believed him.

“Wait,” you said, lowering your hand from your face.

You didn't believe him.

“When I had that nightmare—” “No,” Loki said, running his hand over his forehead, “that wasn—”

“that was you! That was you and that was me, in our dreams, and _you_  hurt me!”

“That was _your_ nightmare, (Y/n). I didn’t think that since your memory was wiped that you could still— that _we_ could still travel to each other's dreams.” Loki said, trying not to raise his voice.

You droned him out, covering your ears with your hands and saying, “I want to wake up, I want to wake up.” Over and over again until you got a prickling feeling in your stomach then everything faded to black.

 

 

When you woke up and opened your eyes, you found that your surroundings were spinning. You quickly shut your eyes, fighting the sense of vertigo. You could feel that you were leaning against a wide tree with your arms tied around it. You felt around with your constricted hands, feeling the rough bark, then suddenly smooth skin. You opened your eyes, and tried to turn around, “Bucky? Tony?”

“No.” The voice said. It was Loki. You let go if his hand, then sat back down, starting to panic.

“Tony?” You called out.

“Are you hurt?” He asked, and you felt tugging on the ropes around your wrists.

“Tony?!” You screamed, looking around. There were a couple of trees that you could see, but it was very dark. You strained, staring into the dark, looking for your uncle.

“Bucky!”

“(Y/n), don’t yell. The giant is asleep.” Loki said. You tried pulling against the ropes, but there was no way you could break them. Even with your enhanced metal arm, you couldn’t break free.

You lowered your head with a whimper, digging into the cold ground with the heels of your shoes. “How were we in each others’ dreams?” You asked.

There was a sigh. “Two years ago,” he began, his voice cracking, “I had created a Soul Bond between the two of us. An affect of it was that we are able to travel into each other's dreams if we chose to. But the first night after you came out of your coma, I swear on my life, I would never hurt you. Never again.”

You shut your eyes, leaning your head against the tree and taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out.

“Where are we?” You asked.

“Underground. Look up.” Loki said, and you did. You squinted, and you saw a dark ceiling. You closed your eyes and pressed your lips together as you started to cry.

Why you? Why were all of these things happening to you?

“I will get you back to Tony. I promise.” Loki said.

“You know, you shouldn’t make promises you know you can’t keep.” A gravelly voice said, and your blood ran cold.

The giant was awake.

 

 


	34. Freeze

 

The ground trembled as the Giant walked into your view. He was pale blue, very tall, and muscly.

He grinned, showing his pointed fangs at you, and you swallowed in fear. You couldn’t help staring at the purple horns that protruded from his cheeks and forehead.

“Please, let me go.” You said in the calmest voice you could muster, which was hard considering you were looking at a pretty horrifying monster.

“Now why would I let you go, exactly?” The creature asked, crouching in front of you.

“B-because you just used me to get Loki. You h-h-have him now, so you need to let me go.” You explained, trying not to start crying again.

A smile played on the Giants’ face, “I might have, under usual circumstances, but this is a whole new level of villainy.” He stood up, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword that was staked into the ground, “But you see, I have _the_ Loki Laufeyson, who is already wanted for two million credits. And now I have his bride as well.”

That hit you like a train, and you were even more confused.

“She’s not my bride.” Loki said firmly, as you felt for any rings on your fingers, to find none.

“Then what’s this?” The Giant asked with fake interest, opening a punch that was sling over his shoulder and pulled out a yellow piece of paper then walked up to Loki and out of your view.

You couldn’t be married to Loki, or to anyone because Tony would have mentioned it. Could that Soul Bond thing be the same as a marriage? No, no, you didn’t want to be married, at least not to him.

You heard the sound of papers ruffling and the Giant walked over to you, and showed the poster to you. It had a moving drawing of Loki, and what looked like to be you, holding hands. Every few seconds Loki would lift the hand that he was holding and kissed the back of it while gazing at you fondly.

You read below in the beautiful, golden script: _I, AllMother Queen Frigga, I am exuberant to announce that my son, Loki Odinson, is to be married in the coming months to a heroine by the name of (Y/n) Stark_ —

the Giant pulled the paper away before you could finish reading it and started pacing around the tree.

“I’m sure Thanos will be pleased—”

“No, no, no, no, no, no. Please, let her go and take me.” Loki said, panicking.

You wondered who Thanos is and why he made Loki start to freak out. And if Loki was terrified, shouldn’t you be?

“No, no.” The Giant chuckled, “The girl comes, too. I’m most certainly sure Thanos will want the girl for the same reason why I took her: to manipulate you.”

“Who are you?” Loki asked.

The Giant stopped pacing, “I am Cofftour.” He crouched down, untying your left arm from the tree. “Don’t try anything.” He growled as he released your right arm. you curled your metal hand into a fist, “Midgardians couldn’t even make a dent—” you swung your arm as hard as you could, and your knuckles landed right on his cheek, making his head whip to the side.

He shoved you to the ground and the wind got knocked out of you as he pinned you down growled in your face to the point where he was almost roaring.

“Stop!” Loki screamed, trying to pull himself free from the ropes, “Don’t—!”

“Be quiet you filthy runt!” Cofftour said, then looked back at you.

“You could use a breath mint.” You snapped, making Cofftour bring his hand up to your throat and hold it tightly. There was a deadly look in his eyes that made you regret your actions— somewhat.

“In my race of giants, the women know their place. It seems like you don’t.” He said in a dangerously low voice. You could feel his hot sticky breath on your face as you scowled at him and your lungs started to hurt from the lack of oxygen.

You looked at Loki, who was bleeding from his right temple, scarlet liquid rolling down the side of his face.

“One more outburst like that and I will make sure you know where you belong. I know women like you; pipsqueaks, submissive—”

“You don’t know me.” You snapped looking back at the giant, just almost prying his hand off of your throat with your metal one, “I don’t even know me. But what I _do_ know is that if you’re a bad guy and you piss me off— you’ll be dead at my hands.”

The two of you stared at each other, and you were incredibly pissed off.

You were boiling with rage as he got off of you and you gasped for air, coughing as he yanked you up to a stand by your short hair. You watched him as he pulled another rope out of his bag. He glared at you with anger as he held your wrists and tied them together with one end of the rope, pulling it so tight that your wrists were squeezed together painfully and making the coarse rope dig into your skin.

You looked down at your mismatched hands; one made from flesh and had a healing cut on the palm, and the other shiny and silver.

With the other end of the rope he tied it to his belt, and you were forced to follow him as he approached Loki and untied him as well. Your throat throbbed painfully as you watched Cofftour tie Loki’s wrists, then connect his rope to his own belt.

The giant pulled his sword out of the ground and started walking, and you were forced to follow behind him. You glared at the Cofftour’s fur covered back, trying to make a plan when Loki caught your eye. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered.

You watched him and saw that he was prodding the wound on his head, then flicked the blood away. You looked away, shaking your head and sighing.

The farther you walked the darker it got, until it was pitch black and you were only relying on the direction you were tugged in. You realized you had drifted far to your left when you bumped into a firm object and it held onto to you, whispering, “It’s me.” You nodded with a hum, brushing off his hand from your arm. Once he lost contact with you, you realized how cold you were. A shiver ran through you, making the goose-bumps rise all over your skin. You were very sure that if you could see, you could see your breaths.

You didn’t know how long you were walking for, but at some point the underground tunnel (which you had quickly deduced that that is what you were traveling through) started at a sharp incline. If only you could talk with Loki privately, then maybe the two of you could create a plan...

 

 

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the cloudy sky, then it all came rushing back to what happened. Tony quickly sat up and looked around; Thor and Bucky were unconscious on the ground, and a few feet away from them was a patch of grass covered in a thick blue powder.

“No, no!” He cried, getting up and looking around, breathing hard. “(Y/n)...” He whimpered shutting the helmet.

Bucky suddenly scrambled up, only to trip over himself and fall over into Thor, who woke up with a start, getting tangled with Bucky.

“Jarvis, scan for any signals or signs of (Y/n).”

Bucky got away from Thor and looked around quickly, “Where’s—”

“He took her. That thing took her.” Tony said frantically, then flying up into the air.

“Tony!” Bucky shouted, watching the man in red and gold armor arc across the sky.

Bucky shook his head, then looked at Thor and asked, “What the hell was that thing?”

“It was a hybrid Giant. Half Ice-Elf, half Giant. They’re not the same thing as Frost Giants, as some people think. They used to have many clans here, but Giants don’t approve of the cross breeding, and tried to kill off the halflings.”

Bucky nodded absentmindedly, looking back to the approximate area where you had been standing. He walked over to the spot and noticed a small pool of blood, then crouched down. He carefully brushed his fingertips along the cold ground, feeling the footprint where the Giant had been standing.

He looked around, then saw more footprints. There were a few drops of blood going in the same direction. He walked over to them, following the general direction they were heading in. He looked back to Thor, who was still watching the sky for Tony. He went over to Thor and said, “I found some tracks. Where’s Tony?” Thor pointed up into the sky. Bucky squinted; seeing a bright reflective dot far out in the distance.

Bucky sighed, “We need to get him over here.”

“Okay.” Thor said, “Stand back.”

Bucky moved several yards away, and Thor lifted his hammer to the sky. Thunder rumbled as pure electricity curled and sparked around the hilt of the hammer and Thor’s wrist, and Thor pointed in the direction Tony was flying, and lighting erupted from the sky, hitting the top of his hammer and flying to where Tony was, but not hitting him. The lightning disappeared and Thor lowered his arm, watching the red dot slowly turn and head back to the two of them.

“He’s coming back. Show me where those tracks are.”

Bucky led him over to where they were and pointed away from the river, “They go off in that direction. I can track them, so we can follow those.”

Tony landed next to them with a thud, “What?”

“I found tracks, we can follow them, see where they went.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Tony said, then started walking quickly, following the tracks.

 

 

You stared at the ground, watching your cold feet move in front of the other, again and again. You couldn’t feel them.

You were chilled to the bone; your face flushed and your teeth chattering. You were above ground, and the cold breeze went right through your robes, you might as well not have been wearing anything.

 You had enough, you decided, falling to your knees and continued to be dragged behind the giant on your back.

“Stop! Stop!” Loki shouted, moving over to you and tugging hard on his rope, trying to get Cofftour’s attention.

You opened your eyes, looking up at Loki.

“I am telling you to stop right now!” Loki commanded, trying to pick you up; but with his hands bound together, it was difficult.

“Please stand up. I’ll carry you.” He said, but you simply shook your head, looking up at the cloudy sky.

You pressed your face against your metal arm, your only source of heat, which was slowly growing colder by the hour.

“Stop, now.” Loki said, glaring at the giants’ back. “If she dies, I swear on the galaxy you will not get me to Thanos.”

You internally groaned as another breeze swept through you, and you realized you weren’t moving anymore.

“What is the problem?” Cofftour grumbled.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were so cold?” Loki asked you somewhat angrily, cradling your face.

“She’s Midgardian,” he told Cofftour, “they can’t withstand the weathers like we can.” Loki picked you up and placed you on his lap, rubbing you, trying to get you warm by creating friction. “You need to get these ropes off of her. It will cut off her circulation.” Loki said, looking at the giant.

You pressed yourself against Loki, shivering as you tried to get any heat from him. You shuddered, bringing your arm up to your numb face, trying to make it warm with the metal.

“Please.” Loki asked, “You’re risking nothing. S-she’s too weak to do anything. I just want to carry her.”

The giant stayed there, watching Loki hold you. “You don’t want her dead, either. If you know you can manipulate me by using her, you’d know that if she dies you will regret it immensely.” Loki said, and the giant seemed to have listened to what he said.

Cofftour walked over to the two of you and pulled out a knife. He lifted your cold arms and started to saw through the rope. Quickly enough, you were free.

Loki tossed away the rope as Cofftour said to start moving. Loki carefully took your cold arm, inspecting the dark red and purple marking the coarse rope had left on your wrist.

“Come on, get up.” He gently told you, and you used him to help you stand. You braced yourself with his shoulders as you jumped and wrapped your legs around his torso. He slipped his bound arms around you, holding you up by your thighs as you did the same around his neck as he started to walk. You rested your forehead on your arm, your cheek pressed against Loki’s.

“Thank you.” You whispered, another shiver wracking your body. You stayed silent for a while, slowly feeling Loki’s body heat seep through his leather armor. Every now and then Loki would flicked his head to the side.

“H-how are we going to get-t-t f-free?” You asked sleepily.

“I have a plan.”

You shivered again, “Is it a g-good one?”

Loki smirked, remembering this exact conversation a few years ago.

“I’ve got a plan.”

You sighed into his ear. Loki kept his smirk, flicking his head to the side again, no doubt splattering his crimson red blood against the dull blue ground.

Anyone could follow that trail he was leaving.

And that’s what he was hoping for.

 

 


	35. A Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize how long this was, wow. But here you go, lovelies <3 <3

 

You had fallen asleep in Loki’s arms an hour later. When you weren’t responding to his small talk, he had thought the worst had happened to you, but once he heard your almost silent breathing in his ear, he let out a tense breath. Loki picked up his walking pace until he was almost parallel with Cofftour, who glared down at the prince. “How much farther?” He asked.

It was starting to get dark.

“Just a bit longer. We’re going to my village for a few things first.” Cofftour growled.

Loki gazed around, then looked up into the sky. His plan could only work under specific circumstances... He couldn’t see any landmarks to show where he was, or in what direction they were going. He never had been to this part of Alfheim before.

He shifted you in his arms and you moved, sliding both of your arms in between the two of you, wanting more warmth. He felt you press your face against his exposed neck, sighing deeply and shivering yet again.

“We will need to stay longer than we need to.”

“Why?” Cofftour snapped, turning to Loki.

“If you want to give her to Thanos you don’t want her half dead. He’s not known for being exactly caring, is he?” He said, sarcastically.

Cofftour scowled, then looked away from Loki. “We’re here, anyways.”

Loki stared ahead, “I don’t see anything.” Cofftour placed a controlling hand on the prince’s shoulder, leading him forward. After walking a few feet, the buildings appeared. The halflings, which Loki realized his captor was, were walking around and carrying large items. A few of them stopped, glaring at Loki and you with eyes full of hostility.

The giant pushed Loki again, quickly guiding him through the village to a small, grey, building. The guards in front of the door nodded to Cofftour, then pushed open the door. Cofftour guided Loki down the hall of jail cells.

The prisoners were rowdy and loud; pushing each other, fighting, and laughing. The prisoners almost all had scars or mangled faces. Loki was shoved to the right, down another hall with more yelling prisoners, and Loki held on to you tighter, ignoring the heckling and insults being shouted at your sleeping form.

Cofftour stopped Loki at an empty cell. “In here.” He growled, opening the door and pushing Loki in.

“We will need blankets.” Loki said as he stumbled in, careful not to drop you.

Cofftour slammed the door shut, wrapped a thick chain around the door, which glowed bright red with heat when he walked away. He set you down in the corner of the room against the back wall. He stroked your face, “(Y/n), wake up.”

Hearing him say your name, you let out a deep sigh.

“Yes, it’s me.” He chuckled. You were still shivering, but you opened your eyes, and Loki smiled.

You looked around with your eyes, too tired to turn your head. “W-where are w-w-we?” You asked.

“A prison, Cofftour brought us here. I don’t know when we’re leaving. But when we do, we’re going to Thanos.”

Another halfling guard tossed in a few blankets into your cell, and Loki quickly grabbed them and carefully wrapped the first blanket around you, and began to rub your shoulders.

“I r-remember when the O-o-other left me in a forest-t-t.” You stuttered.

“You remember?” Loki asked, his eyes wide.

You nodded, pulling the blanket tight around you. You patted the spot behind you, and Loki sat there, with you between his long legs, leaning against his chest. “I-I got hypoth-th-th-th-ermia.” You said as Loki wrapped a blanket behind himself, and the last one on top of the two of you.

“What... what else do you remember?” Loki hesitantly asked.

“I remember... the first day we met... C-c-crimson Peak... all of our missions... I remember how much I l-love you, Loki.” Loki smiled, wrapping his arms around you. “I love you, too (Y/n).” He said, pressing his lips to the back of your head, “So much, (Y/n). So much.” He removed his lips and looked down at you, to find that you were sleeping.

Loki gently rubbed your back and arms; ignoring the disgusting and rude things the other prisoners were saying, the things they were threatening to do. He looked passed the moment he was in right now, and into his fantasy future: his brother, Tony, and Bucky would find the two of you, and go back to where the Guardians of the Galaxy, who would take the five of you home. Things would be mended, in time, but they would be mended nonetheless. He wanted to get from here to there, and he knew there would be a great amount of push back, and he resigned himself with that.

He held you as you shivered again.

He would protect you and care for you with his entire being, and he felt like that was his goal in his life. And he didn’t regret a single second of it.

 

 

A few hours passed while you slept in his arms. The prisoners shouted had stopped every now and then. Loki closed his eyes, trying to get some form of rest, but he was too tense and restless.

When were Thor and the others going to find him? He sighed, looking at the dirty walls, but at least you remembered. That was a miracle, he was so happy, but he did have a question. Why now, all of a sudden? Why not right after you had woken up? Maybe it took some time to remember, to get the brain working fully again after a year of being dormant. When you wake up, the two of you definitely need to make a plan; Loki would not let you get taken to Thanos.

“(Y/n), wake up.” He whispered, “We need to make a plan.”

You didn’t respond.

Loki sighed again. He would need a distraction, but he could not risk you being by yourself. He looked across the hall to the prisoners who were starting to calm down. He focused his gaze then to his own prison cell door and it’s red-hot chain.

The only way Loki and yourself to get out was if the prisoners had calmed down enough or fallen asleep, then someone were to break off the chain. And escape without getting seen. And all of that would have to take place before Cofftour came back. But the likelihood of the prisoners falling asleep were very little. The realization that Cofftour could come back at any second made him start to panic: this would be your only chance of escape.

Loki began to slightly shake you, trying to wake you up. “(Y/n), you need to wake up now. We don’t have much time.”

You groaned, scrunching your eyebrows together out of mild anger.

“I have a plan, but I need your help.” You stretched your arms and sighed, sitting up, “What is it?”

He explained the plan to you and ended it by saying, “It’s similar to the one we had at Shane and Mary’s wedding.”

“Who?” You asked.

“Remember, we had that plan to stop—”

“No, remember? I don’t remember a lot of things since I woke up.” You said. Why was he acting like you remembered?

Loki fell silent. You had said things, you had remembered.

Unless it was simply the hypothermia scrambling your brains for a moment, Loki thought.

You shook your head, looking around the room, then across the hall to the other prisoners, then had an idea. “Maybe we could ask those guys across the hall. I’m sure they want to get out too.”

Loki considered your plan, and thought it could very well work.

“Do you know how to get out of this place?” You asked, looking from the prisoners to Loki. He nodded.

“Okay, because I’ll be following you. Got it?”

He nodded again. You removed yourself from Loki and walked to the prison bars and crouched down, bracing yourself against the door with your metal hand. “Hey.” You called out, trying to get their attention, which you quickly earned, but in a negative way.

“Do we really need them?” Loki asked angrily, crouching beside you. You could sense hostility coming off of him, making your response hesitant. “Yes... t-they’re the distraction.”

He huffed and you shuffled away from him. You looked down the halls, searching for guards: there were none. “Hey, do you want to get out of here?”

They stopped talking and stared at you for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“Like _you_ could break out!”

“You and your twig arms! If we can’t, you most _certainly_ can’t!” Another laughed, tears rolling down their faces.

You sighed, then looked at Loki, “Why can’t they escape, anyways?”

He looked up at the red chain holding the cell door shut, “It’s too hot. It makes the entire cell door hot.” You raised your left index finger to touch the door, but then quickly removed it when you burned yourself. You didn’t think this through.

But wait a second.

You looked down at your right hand that was resting casually on the hot metal.

Right, you smiled, Tony had said that your arm could withstand extreme temperatures.

“Will this convince you?” You called out. The prisoners slowed their laugh to a dead stop as they watched you placed your hand on the chain.

The prisoner that seemed like the leader looked down the halls then said, “What do you want us to do?”

 

 

“We’ve been walking for hours, and who knows how long we’ve been unconscious?” Tony said.

“We’ll find her, Tony.” Bucky said, looking around in the darkness for any signs of movement.

“We always do.” Thor added.

“I know,” Tony sighed, “but this time it feels different. A bad different.”

“I know. Without her memories... it’s strange. I keep wanting to talk to her about things.” Thor said.

“She’s vulnerable. If that thing took her, he might know who we all are and might want answers from her, it won’t believe that she doesn’t remember.” Tony said.

“But Loki will protect her, right?” Bucky asked.

While Thor nodded, Tony looked away skeptically.

“Tony, can we discuss why you hate Loki?” Bucky asked, walking backwards.

“Where do I begin?” Tony said sarcastically. “Maybe I start from when he wanted to take over the world? When he tried to kill me by tossing me out the window, brainwashed Clint, killed dozens of people, including (Y/n).” Bucky’s eyes widened, “He killed—”

“Yes. It took me twenty seconds to get to her body, and she had no pulse. Who knows how long she was dead. A large shockwave shocked her heart back to life. He beat her to death, Bucky. You’ve gotta understand how I’m feeling.”

In his years of knowing Tony, this was the most open Thor had seen him.

“I know, Tony. I’m trying to put myself in both of your shoes. Loki and I are very similar. We were both brainwashed,” Tony huffed, “we both have dark pasts... we’ve done things we regret. And if you think I’m trustworthy enough to be part of the Avengers even though you know I was toyed with Hydra, I’m sure you can think differently about Loki.”

Tony gritted his teeth and didn’t respond.

 

 

“Three,” you whispered, “two, one.” You ripped the chain from the door and swung it open, immediately going to the other cell and taking off the hot chain and tossing it to the floor, releasing the prisoners. They started cheering and yelling and fighting the guards who had come down the hall. Loki grabbed your arm but you yanked yourself from him, watching the fighting commence.

“One more!” You said, going to another cell and freeing the prisoners, who all started screaming and joining the brawl. Loki grabbed your arm again and pulled you to run along with him. The two of you ducked under large fists and weapons. A few times you almost got separated from Loki, but you had shoved whoever was blocking you, making whatever wall collapse.

He pulled you to the left and you saw three more guards wielding large weapons running straight for the two of you. Loki and you stopped dead in your tracks. Behind them was the exit.

“Come on!” Loki said, trying to pull you in a different direction from the screaming and fighting.

“We can take them!” You said, glancing at him, then to the giants who were a few yards away and closing in. Your heart was beating fast and you weren’t just going to give up.

“Not all three!” He shouted at you, “You don’t—” you yanked yourself away from him again and faced the giants and ran to meet them.

As soon as you were in reach, the large club came down to crush you, you grabbed it with your metal arm, vaulting yourself into the air and kicking the other guard in the face so hard he staggered backwards and fell to the ground. You landed and rolled under the second guard who had just brought down his scythe a few inches from your face. You slammed your elbow into the back of his knee, making him fall forward and you climbed up his back and slammed his head into the cement floor, and he stopped moving. One more to— you were thrown backwards and hit the wall with force, knocking the breath out of you and causing your vision to flicker into darkness— then Loki was hauling you to your feet and pulling you down the hall.

“What about the other guard?” You asked, your head was pounding and you weren’t sure where you were going.

“I took care of him. Once we get through that door you have to run as fast as you can, okay? I’m sure you’re in quite some pain right now, but you can do this. Ready?”

You nodded, trying to focus. Loki rested his hand on the door for a moment and pushed it open and broke out into a dead run. Large blue objects blurred by as you gripped onto Loki’s hand, running in the direction of trees in the distance. Breathing in the cold air rapidly and hearing the several furious roars behind you seemed to remove the foggy state you were in.

Your feet thudded against the ground as you looked over to Loki, who was clearly panicking.

“Don’t look back.” He snapped, and you nodded, staring forward and internally wishing something good would happen. You finally passed the first tree, somewhat relieved that there was minor coverage.

Oh, god, you didn’t think this far ahead. What would you do? How long could you run? You looked back, and found it was a dreadful mistake; seven large, furious, blue giants were racing towards you. You quickly faced ahead again, terrified.

“Shouldn’t have looked back.” Loki scolded.

“What do we do?” You asked. “I...” He looked at his surroundings then shook his head.

“Left.” You said, banking around a tree and you stopped, placing both hands on the tree and pushing with all your might, and it fell into the path of the giants, and you started running again.

“Tony!” You shouted. You kept pace with Loki, running on whatever direction. You cupped your hands around your mouth and shouted for your uncle again.

 

 

The longer they were walking, the more anxious they started to get. “Sir, stop.” Jarvis piped up, and Tony stopped. He held out a hand to signal for the others to halt.

“What is it?” Tony asked, and Jarvis displayed a sound recording on the inside of the helmet. Jarvis was quickly enhancing and analyzing it.

“It’s (Y/n).” Jarvis said at the same time he displayed the coordinates.

“She’s that way! Meet me there!” Tony said, pointing to his left and shooting off into the sky. Tony scanned the ground, looking for you. He spotted several large moving objects heading in the same direction. Tony looked in the direction they were running and saw you and Loki.

Tony cursed and quickly banked, weaving around a tree and landing quickly. Tony raised his arms, palms facing out wards and shot the beams of energy at the giants, causing them to be thrown backwards with large wounds in their stomachs. Hearing the commotion, you turned around then stopped running.

“Tony!” You exclaimed, going back to him and he held you in a tight hug.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice coming from his mask. You nodded. He held you at arms length then stepped out of the metal suit, then pulled you into another hug, needing to feel you with his own skin. He sighed against you, then looked over to Loki, who was watching the two of you with... sympathy?

Tony let you go and searched your face, then let his eyes rest into yours, “Did he hurt you?” He asked quietly.

“No.” You plainly said, “I’m gonna sit down for a second.” You then got down to the cold earth, resting your head against your knees, taking in several deep breaths.

“Hey, you okay? What happened?” Tony asked, kneeling down next you you and putting an arm around your back.

“I’ll be fine, just need a second.” You panted, putting a hand to your chest and feeling how hard your heart was pounding. Was this what it felt like to be on a mission?

“Tony?”

Your uncle looked behind you, but you just ignored him.

Loki stood there, nervously rubbing his fingers into the palm of his left hand, “May I have a word with you?” He looked from your uncle, and then to you, and back again. Tony clenched his jaw and very hesitantly let go of you and stood. Tony cleared his throat and said, “Why don’t you step inside the suit? It’s pretty cold out.”

You nodded, wanting warmth. With shaky legs, you got up and stepped in reverse of how you saw your uncle do it, and it closed with you inside.

Tony strode to where the other man was. “What?” Tony snapped.

“She remembered.” Loki said, “I don’t know how— it was possibly the cold and it made her disoriented, but she remembered.”

Tony pressed his hand to his own mouth, watching you walk around in the armor.

“What did she say?”

Loki lowered his voice, “She said that she remembered seeing Crimson Peak, and her Foosball trophies.” Loki decided he shouldn’t say that you remembered how much you loved the God of Mischief.

Tony nodded, “Okay.”

“But then she had fallen asleep and when she woke up, she didn’t remember remembering.”

Tony raised his eyebrows in shock, then narrowed his eyes, “So if I asked her right now, she wouldn’t know what I was talking about?”

Loki knew what Tony was getting at, and they stared at each other, suppressing anger. “I’m not lying.” Loki said, his teeth clenched.

“Tony!” The two men turned and saw Bucky and Thor sprinting to them. Loki gritted his teeth, watching Bucky slow to a stop.

“Who’s in the suit?”

“(Y/n). And Loki says that she remembered.” Tony said, skeptically.

Thor and Bucky looked at Loki, and he retold what he had said to Tony.

“Okay,” Bucky said when Loki finished, “so she’s getting her memories back. That’s good.” He ended hopefully.

“Unless he’s lying.”

“Tony, enough—” Thor began, taking a step forward.

“Forget it.” Tony snapped, “I’m gonna go take (Y/n) to where the Milano is, and have Peter and them pick you guys up, okay?” He walked to where you were standing and knocked twice on the helmet. It automatically opened and you smiled, “This is so cool! Jarvis was telling me how it worked, and how you invented it.”

Tony smiled as well. “Thanks. But listen, I’m gonna fly us to the ship, and then go pick them up, okay?”

You nodded and the suit opened up and you stepped out, getting hit by a chilly breeze. Tony took your place inside the suit as you waved goodbye to Bucky, but all three men waved back. You gave an awkward smile before you turned back to your uncle and put your arms securely around his neck.

“We’ll be back soon.” He said, putting an arm around your waist and shot off into the sky. You shut your eyes quickly as you felt the air rush by you.

“The view is really nice, wanna look?” He asked.

“Uh...” You panicked, keeping your eyes shut.

You felt Tony slowly flip over so that you were lying flat on top of him and he was upside down. You quickly opened your eyes long enough to see a blur of blue and white crystalline buildings, then closed your eyes again.

“Pretty.” You chocked out, trying to not think about if you loosened you grip at all you would fall to your death.

“We’re almost there.” Tony said, trying to soothe your fears. You felt a sudden change in temperature and it was warm.

 _Breathe, breathe_ , you told yourself, taking in nervous, fearful breaths.

“Okay, I’m gonna land now.” Tony said, turning upwards, and slowly lowering the two of you down. You opened your eyes and saw that you were still hundreds of feet in the air, but your eyes landed on a large, smooth, and shiny ship. In the moonlight you could see that it was painted an amazing orange and blue. You looked down at the ground, which was much closer now.

“Jarvis, let them know we’re here.” Tony said as the two of you touched down. You slowly let go of Tony as you looked around; you were in a large field with trees in the distance. You could hear the river that would have lead you here.

You turned back to face the ship when you heard a loud creaking noise, followed by a whirring as the front bay door opened, followed by a ramp lowering down to the ground.

Tony stepped out of his suit and it started to break down into smaller pieces, folding into each other until it formed a sleek suitcase. Tony bent down and picked it up. With his other hand, he held yours and lead you up the ramp just as a light turned on. Once you were inside the ship you looked around as Tony guided you.

All around you were thick cables and wires running along the ceiling and walls. Fluorescent lights ran along the ceiling as well, flickering a few times. Tony let you to a vertical ladder and started climbing, then stopped and looked back at you and said, “Just a heads up: they’re all good guys.”

You nodded, and Tony continued upwards. You followed after him, wondering why he had said that.

Tony disappeared at the top and you heard him say, “Everyone, I’d like you to meet (Y/n).” You poked your head out of the hole and looked at the new five people standing there.

“(Y/n), these are the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

The man in the center with a stubbly chin cracked open a soda can, but it exploded, slashing froth and soda all down his shirt. He gave you an embarrassing smile and chuckled, “Hey, how’s it going?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, Loki thought for sure you had your memories :(


	36. New Faces

 

Once you were standing in the room, Tony introduced you again. The man who had spilled the soda was Peter Quill, the woman with green skin was Gamora, the man with intricate red tattoos on his chest was Drax, the anthropomorphic raccoon was Rocket, and the tall tree-man was Groot.

“Nice to finally meet you.” Peter said, putting his frothing soda on a bench behind him.

“Nice to meet you, too. All of you.” You said nervously, gesturing to the five. There was an awkward silence that followed, and you looked to Tony for him to possibly continue the conversation. When he didn’t, you hesitantly asked, “Is there a shower here?”

“Yeah.” Peter said, he pointed down the hall behind himself.

“I’ll show you where.” Tony said, taking your hand and leading you passed the so-called Guardians and down the brightly lit hall. You stood on your tippy toes to try to look into the porthole windows in the doors to see what was in the room beyond, but Tony opened one and stepped inside with you following. If you hadn’t seen that the ship had lead into that room, you wouldn’t have believed it was the same ship. It was a pristine, white-tiled room with a high ceiling. In the corner of the right side of the room was a large white bathtub the size of a large jacuzzi with a shower head above; the white matching shower curtain dangling on a rod followed the same curve of the tub. Next to the tub was a large sink and only a faucet, and seemingly no place for any handles. In between the sink and the bathtub was a solid gold toilet.

“I wouldn’t have expected this to be so... clean.” You admitted, watching Tony move to the left side of the room and open up the wall to floor wooden cabinet which was filled with towels and soap and other bathroom necessities the rest of that wall was a mirror.

“Neither did I. They told me about whenever they went on missions they’d get really dirty and too lazy to clean up after themselves, Rocket said he put in sensors to test when the bathroom got too dirty it would just flood and clean itself, then drain out.”

“Oh, wow.” You said, not quite believing him. You watched him pull out two towels and hand them to you.

“And here’s a loofah, thing.” He placed a pink fluffy sponge on top of the towels, then walked over to the large tub and sat on the edge.

You set the towels down on the closed lid of the toilet as he said, “As you see, there’s no handles or anything to turn on the water...” and he began explaining how you would turn on the water with your voice.

Once he was sure you understood, he left you alone, closing the door behind him. Finally, you were alone. You stretched your arms above your head, pacing back to to gold toilet and sat on the lid, yawning. You closed your mouth, then asked for the water to be turned on from the shower and to (your preferred water temp) as you kicked off your shoes and started to take off your dirty robes, recalling what had happened only a couple of minutes ago: you were taken for ransom, thrown into prison, and was almost killed escaping.

You ran your hand under the hard water pressure, and deeming the temperature fit for showering, you took off the last of your clothes off and stepped in, pulling the shower curtain around until it blocked your view of the rest of the bathroom, making you feel much more secure. You sighed, letting the water run down your head and back, pushing some stray hairs our of your face. You pulled the soap out of the caddy and started to wash yourself, letting your thoughts wander.

Running your hands through your hair, you thought back to Cofftour and the other giants. They scared the living hell out of you, and you truly thought it was a miracle that you were alive right now. You looked down into the drain, watching the muddy water swirl down and disappear. You looked back at the wall, following your track of thought. You had been _literally_  running for your life, if you had tripped... you decided to pay attention to how you were washing yourself, feeling light-headed and panicky.

You squeezed more of the soap onto your sponge, rubbing it against your skin and removing the dirt and sweat. You exhaled through your mouth and shuddered, trying to think of something happy.

Tony.

Tony made you happy, and you tried to think of a happy moment with him. When he had showed you that song... who was it by? J... J something? Getting hit by that roadblock made you only upset, and you continued to pay close attention to how the water going down the drain was still dark.

You washed your shoulders, going down your back, stomach and legs, finally feeling satisfied when you saw that after thirty minutes, the water went down the drain clear. You asked for the water to be turned off, and it stopped. After wringing your hair out, you pushed the shower curtain aside, quickly grabbing your towel and wrapping it around yourself. You carefully stepped out of the tub, drying yourself off.

You let out a breath, loving the feeling of being clean. You dabbed your hair dry, gazing at the large mirror before walking in front of it. You stepped up close to it, running your fingers along your jaw, turning your head. You looked at your body in the mirror, trying to decipher any other secrets about yourself. All you saw were faint scars on yourself in various places. You could see a few ribs and realized that since you were in a coma, you hadn’t actually eaten anything in a _year_. You sighed, resting your hand on the oval scar on the side of your stomach, then faced your back to the mirror, finding that there was a matching one. Something must have gone through you, and it unsettled you.

You turned and rewound the towel around your body, looking at your dirty clothes. Could you borrow some from one of the others? You quickly put on your underwear and bra then put the towel around yourself once more and walked to the door and opened it just enough to stick your head out. You looked down the hall; it was abandoned.

“Tony?” You called out. “He’s discussing a matter with the a Guardians at the moment, what do you need, Miss Stark?” Said a voice above you. You recognized it to be Jarvis, the same voice who was in Tony’s suit.

“I just wanted to know where or if there’s a room for me?”

“Just follow this green light,” a small green bulb on the wall flickered, “I will guide you to Mr. Stark’s room.”

You stepped out into the hall, hissing when your bare feet touched the cold floor, chills going up and down your body and making goosebumps rise all over your skin.

“Over here, Miss Stark.”

You looked to your left and saw a green light flickering down the hall, and you quickly walked down the hall. “I was also wondering if there were any spare clothes for me as well?” You asked.

“Mr. Stark would be more than happy to share his clothing at your request.” Jarvis said. You followed another green light down the hall on your right. You gazed at the wiring and buttons and levers placed along the walls, following the gentle curve of the hall.

“Wow!” You ran up ahead, looking out the large glass window. You looked down, seeing the ground and trees get smaller and smaller as the ship rose into the sky. You looked up and let out a breath; it was a clear night and you could see millions of stars and colors of galaxies far away. You felt suddenly exposed standing there, and you turned around, looking down the new hall behind it, feeling a strange sensation that you weren’t alone.

You squinted, noticing that this was the only hall that was almost dark. You decided you would investigate when you had more clothes on. You confused forward, then turning right onto the last hall. A green light flashed above a door, “This is Mr. Stark’s room.” Jarvis said.

You looked down the hall and saw it opened up to the same main area. Jarvis had lead you in a half circle. “I see you gave me the scenic route.” You chuckled, turning the knob and entering Tony’s room, and quietly shutting the door behind yourself.

“I thought you would appreciate the view.” Jarvis said. You made your way to the tall dresser and pulled open one of the drawers.

“I did. Thank you.” You said, pulling out a plain black shirt, then opening a drawer below that and looking for some pants.

“You’re very welcome, Miss.” Jarvis said politely.

You found a pair of grey sweatpants and you closed the drawers, laying the clothes on the simple bed. You dropped the towel and pulled the shirt on, followed by stepping into the large pants. Luckily the pants had a drawstring, and you tied it tighter, then into a bow. You laid the towel open to dry, then left the room. You went back down the hall to where the large window was, and peered down the darkened hall. You tiptoed down it, curious. Was there nothing different with this hall than the others, with only the lights broken?

There were a few doors lining the wall, and one long barred gate, like the prison you had been in before, and you stopped, trying to look into it from standing at the opposite wall.

You could see a figure lying on the small bed with their back facing you— and almost at the same time you noticed that, you realized it was Loki, seeing the silhouette of his armor. You watched him as he turned over to face you, then jump up to a sitting position when he saw you standing there. He coughed to fill the silence, looking down at the floor.

“I... I didn’t know that they had picked you up already.”

“Yes, it was very quick.” Loki said. You paused, looking at him looking at the floor.

“Why are you in there?” You blurted out. You internally groaned, wishing you hadn’t said that.

He looked at you, confused. “Where else am I supposed to be?”

“Uh... in a room?” You suggested.

He scoffed and stood, going to the bars and leaning on them.

“People like me belong in a prison.” He mused, holding onto a bar.

Ouch. That wasn’t something you could easily respond to. “Well... you helped me. So you...” where were you going with this?

Loki was looking at you, expecting you to continue.

You dropped your sentence as well as your gaze to the floor, remembering what Tony had told you about the things Loki had done.

“Right. You know as well as I do that I belong here.” He said bitterly.

“No, I don’t.” You said defensively, “I only know what Tony and Thor told me.”

Upon hearing your uncles’ name, Loki chuckled and looked up at the ceiling.

“And it’s confusing as hell. I don’t know really who to believe.” You ended quietly, crossing your arms. “And any new information I gain just confuses me more. I just want the truth.” You weren’t aware how Loki was looking at you, and you weren’t aware of how sorry he was.

“Things will get better.” He said.

You gave him a weak smile and walked to the bars separating him from you, saying, “Everyone’s telling me that, but it feels like things can only go downhill.” Loki was about to protest but you cut him off, “Look at me: I came out of a coma almost four days ago with no memories and, apparently, no right arm. Out of those four days I only slept soundly once, had a night terror, and passed out from exhaustion. We were kidnapped and almost killed. I can’t really see things getting better.”

Loki nodded, understanding. You sighed, lifting your hand up to lace your fingers metal fingers with his his real ones, and he held your hand tightly.

“In my experiences,” he said in a quiet voice, looking down at you, “when things go wrong, it doesn’t get better, only the situation changes. Those have been my experiences. My life is very different from yours, but once you’re around people who you love and care about, and those people reciprocate those feelings,” he swallowed, looking deep into your eyes, “ _you_ start to change. _You_ start to feel better, and you start to adapt. I know that if I were with the right person, I know for certain I could go through Hel and back with her at my side.” You were taken aback by what he had said. It was beautiful, and his words touched you very emotionally, feeling that he was almost definitely talking about you.

You rose up on your toes and Loki reached for your other hand, pulling it through the gap between bars and pressing a long kiss to your knuckles, making your cheeks grow hot.

“I need something steady. I need someone to be my rock. Someone I know who will just exist with me.” You said. What were you even asking for? And were you asking that from Loki?

Loki removed his lips from your hand and the two of you started to lean in, breathing heavy. You wanted to hold him, to be close to him, just to feel him against you—

“(Y/n)!”

You jumped away from Loki to see Tony walking to you from the main area.

Busted.

The excited, fluttery feeling you had was replaced with dread and panic, almost as if there were sirens and warning lights going on inside you.

“Uh... I was...” You looked at Loki for help, but he had backed away as well and was staring at Tony, too. _Stop trying to make an excuse!_ You quickly told yourself, _it looks almost as bad as what you actually doing_. And you shut your mouth as Tony stopped in front of you, looking at you and Loki.

You could sense all the suppressed anger Tony had as he somewhat calmly looked at the two of you. “I’m not going to ask what happened here,” he said carefully at a normal tone of voice, “but I will say that if I see this happen again,” he turned to face Loki as his voice suddenly got so sharp he could cut wires with it, “I _will_ drop you off on whatever hunk of rock out there. Got it?”

Loki’s eyes flickered to yours.

“Do not look at her.” Tony snapped, and Loki met his eyes again.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Loki said plainly.

Watching Tony threaten someone like that added a new view to what you already knew him as.

He turned to you and you started shaking your head and stuttering out apologies as he put his hand on your back and guided you to the main area. “P-please Tony, I didn’t mean to, it just happened.” You sat down on one of the benches, keeping your eyes on your hands that were moving nervously across your lap. You were too scared to look into his eyes and see anger.

Or worse; sadness and disappointment.

“ _How_  did it just happen?”

You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself, “I finished my shower and gone to your room to get some clothes and I happened to pass that hall, and it was the only one that was dark and I just wanted to investigate.”

Tony sighed.

“Tony, I’m just really confused.” You whimpered, “I’m so confused I can hardly describe it.”

Tony sat down next to you, “Can you try?”

You let out a breath, “I want to understand things. I want to understand why I’m feeling these things. The things you’ve told me, no matter how many times you’ll tell me, it just won’t fit together. Like,” you gave an exasperated sigh, “ _yes_ , point A leads to point B, and point B to C, but my brain is just rejecting it. Like none of that is possible.”

“You’re in denial.” Bucky said, coming up from behind you and sitting on the other bench to your left.

“You just want to go back to what you know. In my case; what Hydra taught me. In your case, just seeing what seems possible. How do you feel about Rocket?”

“A walking talking raccoon? Not possible.” You instantly said.

“But there he is, walking and talking.” Bucky said, watching Rocket and Groot come down the hall from the cock pit.

“It’ll get easier when you get your memories back.” Tony said, rubbing your back.

You stood, stretching. When you lowered your arms down to your sides, “I really hope so. But... what if they... don’t?” You said, and Rocket stopped and turned to you.

“What are you whining about?”

You were surprised at how rude he was, “Well, I don’t know how much you know, but I’m having a hard time getting your memories back.”

“Well boo hoo!” Rocket mocked, “Everyone’s got issues! I used to be a man! Like him!” He pointed at Bucky, “And now I’m not.”

He turned to you, “But you don’t see me moping around!”

“I am Groot.” Groot said.

“Doesn’t matter. And she’ll never see me drunk! But listen honey, you deal with the pain that comes, if you roll over with your belly up, you might as well be dead. So suck it up, wear your big girl pants, and deal with it.”

And it was dead silent. The sound of his voice was ride, but he was... being kind?

You gave him a smile and bent down to rub his furry head, his ears twitching. “Thanks, Rocket.” You said, and he swatted away your hands, then flattened the fur on his head, “Yeah, well, don’t have a bad attitude, you’ll make everyone else upset.” He turned, and went down a hall with Groot.

 

 

 


	37. Focus On Me

 

The Guardians gave you a spare room across from Tony, next to Bucky’s room. Tony had first suggested that you brought a bed into his room so the two of you could share, but you hesitantly declined, saying that you wanted some personal space.

And that’s where you were now, laying on your bed, looking up at the ceiling. There was a gentle creaking of metal that echoed its way to your room, adding a comforting sound that would otherwise be quiet. You tried to settle your nerves, but you were unsure about how tomorrow would go. You recalled yet again what Tony had said to you before you went to bed.

“ _Hey, I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I was a little rough to you before.”_

_You nodded, leaning against your doorframe._

_“We’re both handling this very differently, but frankly we can both agree on us wishing we weren’t in this situation.”_

_You nodded again._

_“But tomorrow morning we can call the rest the team if you’re up to it.”_

_“Team?” You asked._

_“Clint, Steve the others. The Avengers.”_

_“Right. Sure, we can do that.”_

_Tony seemed elated and kissed you_ _on the forehead and smiled at you, “Great. I’ll see you in the morning.”_

_“See you.”_

 

And you were nervous. Nervous at how they would react upon hearing that your memories were gone. Would they be angry? _But why would they be angry?_ You asked yourself, if anything they would be devastatingly upset and start to cry. You hoped they wouldn’t. You hated crying and you hated seeing people upset or crying. They would be upset, and you’ll just have to live with it, you told yourself, turning onto your left side so that you would be facing the door. You closed your eyes and listened to your breathing, trying to get yourself relaxed.

You remembered those pictures Tony had shown you a few hours after you had first woken up; those Avengers. Your thoughts turned to that little boy who gave Bucky that flower, and that made you smile.

 

 

_You were in a large, golden room that seemed to never end in size. You turned around, looking for Tony, but you couldn’t find him. You’ve been here before, it all felt so famili— there was a sudden tight grip on the back of your neck and a harsh voice whispered in your ear, “All I ever wanted was you dead at my feet.”_

_It was Loki._

_You tried turning, but that was a huge mistake, causing pain to shoot down your spine. He tossed you to the ground, but at the last second it turned into a large bed, and Loki was kneeling over you._

_You rolled onto your back and threw a punch, but he grabbed your wrists and pinned them on the bed above your head, then locked them to the headboard with handcuffs._

_“No, no, please!” You begged trying to pull your other arm free. He shushed you as you tried and failed to kick him._

_“Shh, shh, it will be alright now.” He said in mock kindness, running his hands over your stomach._

_“Please! Stop! Stop!” You sobbed, watching him lift your shirt up to your chest, continuing to rub your stomach._

_“The reason I’m here at all is for the—” There was a loud like if the tv wasn’t working, cutting out the rest of his sentence._

_“I don’t— I don’t h-have it!” You cried._

_He chucked, “Oh, I think you do.” He pulled out a dagger, which make you scream more. You tried yanking your arms free again, but to no use._

  
Tony heard you screaming, and he ran to your room, pounding on the door, and was joined with Bucky. “Stand back!” Bucky said, getting ready to kick down the door.

 

 

_You were crying terribly now, and he leaned over you, his face only a few inches from yours with a wicked smile plastered on his._

_“If you give it to me, you could rule alongside me. You could be my queen.” He purred, then rammed his lips into yours, kissing you with a bruising force and sliding his tongue into your mouth. Loki moaned obscenely as he forced his tongue around your mouth, tasting you. You lifted your leg to kick him off of you, but he caught it, pushing your knee up to your chest. You sobbed, trying uselessly to get out of the handcuffs, then suddenly you felt a cold and sharp touch to your stomach, making you turn your head away from Loki._

_“I don’t have ANYTHING!” You shouted._

_“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You shouldn’t raise your voice to your king.” He said, sitting up. “Well, if you won’t cooperate with me,” he continued with fake regret, “I guess I’ll have to take it from you.”_

_And with that, he brought the down down into your stomach and yanking downwards, tearing it open and making you scream._

 

 

“(Y/n)? Sweetheart, please wake up.” Tony pleaded, cupping your face with his hands.

You had ended up of the floor, screaming.

“What do you do to calm her down?” Bucky asked, kneeling next to Tony.

“I–I don’t know.”

“Move over.” Bucky said, putting his hands where Tony’s were. “(Y/n), this is just a dream. You’re dreaming. Take a deep breath.”

You made a choking sound, your fist resting on your chest.

“Take a deep breath.” Bucky commanded, but you simply shook your head. “It’s over, okay. That’s not happening to you anymore.”

You shook your head again, and Bucky looked at your chest: you weren’t breathing.

“Hey listen, breathe (Y/n).” Bucky adjusted you so that you’d be laying on his lap. He lifted your free arm and held it against his chest, taking deep breaths. “Look at me. Look at how I’m breathing.” You made gasping sounds, trying to pull in air, but you just couldn’t.

“You can do it, I know you can.” Bucky said, “You’re strong, (Y/n). You can do this.”

Then you finally were able to breathe. You stared up at Bucky, breathing hard.

“It’s over, okay? It was just a dream. It wasn’t real.” He cooed.

You ran your hand under your shirt, reassuring yourself that it in fact _was_ a dream. Your stomach was smooth and whole. You let out a sob, then covered your mouth, looking into Bucky’s eyes. You looked behind him and saw Tony and reached for him. He scooted forward and took your hand, holding and rubbing it. You closed your eyes as you started to cry, curling up against Bucky and pressing your face against his stomach and sobbing uncontrollably.

“I know, I know.” He said, stroking your head, “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be safe. Tony and I will protect you.”

You shook your head again, not believing him. How could they protect you from your nightmares?

The three of you stayed like that: you sobbing and crying, Bucky comforting you with his words and gentle hands, and Tony giving your hand kisses over and over again.

Little did the three of you know, the Guardians of the Galaxy were standing right by the door, silently assessing what had happened and eventually going back to their rooms.

And little to all those people, Loki had been woken up by that same nightmare— dreaming from the assaulting point of view— and was crying just as hard, screaming into his pillow.

 

 

Hours passed until your tears started to slow and your breathing calmed, but your face remained on Bucky’s lap with your eyes closed. Your hands were still trembling and Loki’s voice was still ringing in your head.

_You shouldn’t raise your voice to your king._

You shuddered, holding Bucky’s hand with your metal one. _It was just a bad dream, listen to Bucky, it was just a bad dream_ , you convinced yourself.

“I’m gonna sit you up, okay?” Bucky said. You nodded, slowly picking yourself up and leaning against the metal wall, pulling your knees up to your chest. Just as you started to reach for your bed, Bucky understood and pulled the blanket off and tucked it around you.

You mumbled a thank you, pulling the blanket up to your chin and trying to stop your shaking.

Tony moved himself closer to you, “Do you need anything? Water—”

“It’s best that I don’t eat anything right now, I think.” You said, feeling sick. You wiped the cold sweat off of your forehead and the back of your neck. “It was Loki, again.” You pressed a shaky hand to your face.

Tony clenched his hands into fists.

“He was being so kind to me earlier.” You cried, “Why did he have to hurt me?” You remembered what he had said when you had finished your shower, how nice he was. “I... I had kissed him. A few days ago.” You said, covering your eyes with the blanket as the tears started again. “I’m so sorry Tony,” you blubbered, “I should have listened to you when you told me those things about him. I-I should have never _for a second_ trusted him. Now and then. I’m sorry.”

Tony put his arm around your shoulders and you leaned against him, “You don’t need to apologize. It’s fine, I’m not upset.”

“W-when me and him were gone, L-Loki had said we could travel to each others’ d-d-dreams. But why did he have to hurt me?” You whimpered.

‘ _Go check on Loki_ ’ Tony mouthed to Bucky.

“I’ll be right back.” The assassin said, rubbing your shoulder then getting up. With determination, he walked down the hall and turned right, going down the other hall and saw that the door was opened. He rushed to the doorway, then relaxed when he saw Thor sitting on the bed with Loki, who was sitting on the edge of the bed wringing his hands together.

“ _You_.” Bucky growled.

“Bucky, wait.” Thor said, getting up. Bucky shoved the blonde out of the way and picked Loki up by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the wall, pressing his metal arm against Loki’s throat.

“Tell me what you did.” Bucky snapped.

“Listen, please,” Loki begged, “I didn’t do it. I make sure _not_ to enter her dreams. This one... this one she pulled _me_ into her dream. I dreamed from... from her nightmare’s point of view.”

Bucky looked at him, unsure if he should believe a word Loki was saying.

“I would never hurt her. Never again, you _have_ to believe me.” Loki said desperately.

“Mr. Barnes,” Jarvis said through an overhead speaker, “(Y/n) would like a word with Loki.”

 

 

“Are you sure?” Tony asked.

You nodded, shaking your shoulders and letting out a breath. “It was a dream. Very disturbing, but it was just a dream.” You said.

Tony removed his arm from you as you scooted away from him.

“I just need some space.” You apologized.

“It’s fine.” Tony said, hurting a little.

“Tony?” Bucky called.

“Yeah, come in.” You said, sitting up and watching Bucky, Thor and then Loki entered the room. You did have to admit that you felt a strange sensation of fear and some adrenaline run through you, but common sense calmed you down. It was just a dream, your intact stomach proved it.

Loki stood in front of you in his green shirt and black pajama pants. “What is a Soul Bond?” Loki looked at Tony, then back to you, confused, “Didn’t he tell you?”

“Yeah,” you shrugged, “but _you_ created it.”

Loki sat down, not sure where to begin, but you were patient.

“A Soul Bond is usually done when one person has...” Loki gazed at Tony, then turned his eyes to the ground as if ashamed, “has unending and undying love for another. For the Soul Bond to actually work, the person they cherish has to reciprocate those feelings.” He paused, letting that sink into you.

Tony had told you that you had loved Loki, but he didn’t say _how_ much.

“Oh... okay.”

“But the Soul Bond can only be created by someone who lives up to or more than three hundred years, or is immortal.” He added.

You blinked a few times, staring at him. “You’re over three hundred years old?” You asked, dumbfounded. When Thor had said ‘long living’ you had thought someone in their nineties, or early hundreds.

“I’m almost one thousand and fifty years old.”

You at Thor, who was standing behind Loki. “How old are _you_?” You asked pointing at him.

“Around one thousand, five hundred.”

Your eyes were wide as you met Tony’s gaze, and he just shrugged as if those ages were normal, running his hands through his hair.

“But wait,” you faced Loki, “I’m mortal? Midgardian, as everyone keeps saying.”

“Yeah. The average age we die at is in our eighties.” Tony said.

“Then how would have this,” you gestured to the space in between you and Loki, “worked out?”

“We... we never got to talk about that.”

“Oh.” You said quietly, then cleared your throat, “What exactly does a Soul Bond do?”

“A Soul Bond is for...” he trailed off, his hands making gestures as he picked up again, “some aspects of it are hard to explain, but like I said before, to show undying love for one another.”

You were watching Loki’s hands, mesmerized by how they were moving and his slender fingers, but you snapped out of it when Tony sighed impatiently.

“Some people can simply get married without having to do this, but to some people it doesn’t matter.”

“And it mattered to you?” You said slowly, trying to read Loki’s reaction. You had a feeling that you already knew the answer.

“Well... yes. But I did also do it for another reason. We had been taken by the Other and the Chitauri—” you nodded, remembering that Tony had told you this.

“Right,” Loki continued, “the Other had brought you into the cell he had me in, and I knew that once you left my sight I knew I would not be seeing you for a long time. So I created a Soul Bond between the two of us, knowing that if I didn’t see you again I could still give you and the rest of the Avengers information.”

You nodded. It made sense. “Those times I had nightmares...” you began.

“I made sure to close off myself from you, I wouldn’t have visited your dreams because you would be even more confused. I had that same nightmare you had earlier.” He explained. You were about to ask how, but he continued, “When we very first started traveling to each other’s dreams, _I_ visited you because I knew how to make that connection. You eventually learned, calling _me_ to _your_ dreams. You have to be really strong to actually force someone into the point of view of someone in your dream. I suppose you’re still doing it; calling out. And unless you’re strong enough, you can alter the dream, even if you didn’t call out.”

You nodded, slowly understanding. “So let’s say,” you started, “I called out for you and forced you into my dreams. I could alter _whatever_ I wanted in the dream? What happens, the type of dreaming I’m having?”

“Yes.”

“So, if you called me into your dreams—”

“What?” Tony asked, but you ignored him.

“You could control the theme of the dream?” Loki nodded. “You could ensure that I wouldn’t have nightmares?”

“I-I suppose, yes.”

“(Y/n), this is crazy. I won’t let Loki do that.” Tony said firmly.

“I hardly slept at all since I woke up. I can just feel myself getting more and more irritated by the hour, so _please_ , just let me call the shot on this choice. Please.”

Tony looked at you; his broken niece. He just wanted the absolute best for you, that’s what all of his choices for you were: the best that can be done for you. He was tired of seeing you hurt, physically or emotionally.

He knew the root of the problems was Loki, and Tony wished he could be cold hearted and kick Loki out, but he couldn’t. He needed to make his choice right now. He sighed and said, “Okay.”

“Thank you.” You said, meeting Loki’s gaze, and he smiled.

Tony put his head in his hands, feeling that you and Loki were going to go down the same road the two of you went when you first met the God of Mischief. And that worried Tony.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years to everyone! So, I'll give you a little sneak peak of what will coms in the future of the fic; dancing, romance, forgivness, risk, love, domestic relationship, heartbreak, Las Vegas, and a wedding :)) <3


	38. A Shared Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to Thelynnlynn :) <3

 

“Are you sure you still want to do this? I don’t you want to feel overwhelmed.” Tony said.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’ll be looking toward a good sleep later.” You said, rubbing your hands together excitedly. Tony sat back down next to you on his bed as a projection played on the wall from the ceiling. It was a white background with a green telephone, and Tony took your hand. The image disappeared and was replaced with several people sitting on a couch.

“Hey everyone. Guess who’s back.” Tony said, waving to the screen.

You smiled and waved, “Hey, hey.” You said awkwardly.

“Did you tell them that I don’t have my memories?” You quietly asked Tony.

He cursed and shook his head.

You sighed, turning back to the screen of smiling faces.

“How are you feeling?” A blonde man asked... Stan?

“I’m... I’m alright, but I just wanted to let you guys know that I don’t have my memories.”

Their smiles faded and so did yours.

“But—but Tony told me a little bit about you guys.” You started pointing at each one, “Pepper, Bruce, Stan?”

“Steve.” Steve corrected with a small smile.

“Steve. Clint...” You looked at the next man, you couldn’t recall his name...

“I’m Sam.” He said.

“I’m Natasha.” Said the woman with bright red hair.

“And I’m Rhodey.”

You nodded and said, “And all together we make the Avengers? That’s so cool.” Just as you finished your sentence, Bucky and Thor entered the room and stood beside you and Tony. The people on the screen grinned as well and said hello to their friends.

“Yeah.” Sam said, “I recently became part of the Avengers last summer.”

“But the rest of us have either worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. or been personally asked to join the Avengers.” Clint said, “Natasha and I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. before we teamed up with them.” He seemed much more sadder than the others, occasionally rubbing his eyes.

“When Tony was telling me about everyone and everything, when he told me your names I had reactions to them, like when Tony mentioned you,” you gestured to Clint, “I got so happy.”

A big grin appeared on his face and he blushed, putting his face in his hands. Natasha began rubbing his back and that’s when you realized he was crying.

“No, no, I didn’t mean to make you— I just wanted to cheer you—”

“I’ll be right back.” He said, getting up and leaving. You rubbed your forehead with your hand.

“He’s just happy. You two were like brother and sister. We just missed you so much.” Pepper said.

“Speaking of which,” Bruce spoke up, “when will you guys get back here?”

“Probably a few weeks.” Bucky said, and Tony nodded. Silence fell upon you and the people on the screen and you desperately wished it wasn’t so awkward.

You looked to Tony, hoping he would start talking.

He didn’t.

“Uh, yeah. So. Tell me a little bit about yourselves, if you don’t mind.” You said, and one by one you got to know them a little bit more. Clint had come back and sat on the couch, cleared his throat, and told you a little about himself.

After everyone had finished you shrugged, not sure what else to ask. You admitted that with an embarrassed chuckle and the people on the screen chuckled as well.

“Okay then.” Tony said, “So, we’ll see you in a few weeks, and I’m sure we’ll talk before then.” Everyone said goodbye, and just before Tony was going to hit the hang up button on his phone, Pepper said, “Tony, can I call you after this? I just want to speak to you. Privately.”

You heard by the tone of her voice that what she wanted to talk about wasn’t good.

Tony swallowed, “Sure, yeah.” He then ended the call. You looked to Bucky and Thor as the two of you left the room, guided by Tony.

As he closed his bedroom door, you pressed your ear to it, trying to listen.

“(Y/n) I do not think you should—” you shushed Thor quietly.

There was silence for a moment then Tony spoke.

“What did you want to talk about?” You couldn’t hear Pepper talking, but that’s what you knew was going on.

“What... what do you mean?”

More silence.

“Pepper—I-I... you know I love you.” He let out a sigh, “Pepper— Pepper, I was going to let Happy—” Who was Happy? You wondered, “—run the company if you had come with me.”

Tony paused, “I know how much you do for the company. You know how much I appreciate it.”

You scrunched your eyebrows. What were they arguing about?

“Pepper... please. Please. We’re on our way home, it’ll only take a few weeks.”

You looked at Bucky, who shrugged.

“I’m sorry you’re stressed, but I’m stressed, too.”

Pause.

“P-pepper, please don’t say that. Don’t— don’t say that.” Tony begged, letting out a breath. “Pepper, I need you.” Tony lowered his voice and you can only hear a low rumble of him speaking.

You backed from the door.

What was wrong?

“Are you ready?” Thor asked.

“Uh,” you swallowed, saddened by whatever Tony was going through.

“Yeah.” You nodded, entering your room to see Loki quickly turn to face you, finished fixing your pillow and blankets on your bed.

“I’m ready. What do I need to do?”

“Just, uh, lay down.” He said, walking to the foot of your bed. You sat on the edge, “Are you going to sleep in here, or...?”

How was this going to be done?

Loki looked to Thor. “I suppose we can bring your blanket in here.” The blonde said, then going to do just that.

“Is there anything I need to do before I sleep?” You asked, pushing your blanket aside and getting under it.

“No, just try to clear your mind. Make yourself calm. Get comfortable.” He suggested, moving to the side of your bed. You felt it was strange how Loki was standing next to you while you were fluffing up your pillow. You propped yourself on your elbow, looking up at him.

He gave you a small smile and reached for your hand just as Thor came in and interrupted the two of you.

“Here are your things, Loki.” He said, going to the opposite side of the room.

You sat up as Loki walked over and asked why _those_  are here.

You frowned at the handcuffs as Thor placed a single pillow and blanket on the floor, “Tony would want them on you. He’ll only let you stay in here if you have these on.”

You looked away, feeling awkward for some reason.

“Bucky, would you like to stay in here and keep an eye on Lo— (Y/n). (Y/n). In case she wakes up again?” Thor asked.

Until Tony came out, Thor would have to keep things running like the billionaire would.

“Sure.” Bucky nodded, and you smiled.

“She won’t have another nightmare, I assure you.” Loki snapped at his brother and the assassin.

You hoped so.

Bucky left the room to get his things as Loki sat on the floor and pulled the blanket over himself as Thor crouched down and unlocked the large handcuffs, which opened with a series of spins and sliding pieces. Loki sighed, laying back on the pillow and raising his arms over his head. You watched as Thor locked Loki’s hands in the cuffs around a thick metal pipe, and you looked away again.

You felt uncomfortable; while you slept in a nice and soft bed, Loki slept on the cold, metal floor, in a seemingly uncomfortable position.

Bucky came back as well and dropped his pillow and blanket on the floor next to your bed. Thor said something quiet to his brother, who nodded with a roll of his shoulders.

Thor stood up and walked over to Bucky, gave him a firm handshake, then turned off the lights and left the room, closing the door behind him.

You laid down, this time on your side and closed your eyes with a sigh, trying to calm your mind. You wanted to sleep peacefully, and you were hoping that Loki wasn’t tricking you.

 _Just go to sleep,_ you told yourself. Sleep is exactly what you needed, just to rest, take a time out from the day. You listened to the creaking and groaning sounds of the ship, slowly lulling you to sleep.

 

 

_You woke up and saw a green ceiling, laying in a bed. You looked over to your right and saw Loki sitting in a chair, reading a book to himself with his feet propped up on the end of your bed. You turned your head, looking around the room; it was the same room you had dreamt about from when you had been tied to that tree. You looked back to Loki; he was just so calm, his black hair and pale skin contrasting against each other, and the room as a whole._

_“It worked?” You asked drowsily. Loki nodded, not looking up from his book._

_“Can I go back to sleep in here?” You asked about your dream, your eyes tracing the shape of his hands._

_“Yes.” Loki flipped a page, “I’ll make sure you sleep soundly.”_

_“Okay.” You sighed, turning onto your stomach, grabbing the second pillow and hugging it tightly._

_I would rather hold onto you than the pillow, you thought sleepily._

_“Really?” Loki asked with a chuckle._

_“Hm?” You opened your eyes._

_“You said you would rather hold onto me than the pillow.” He said with a cheeky grin._

_You had said that out loud? You blushed, pursing your lips._

_“Would you mind if I joined you?” He asked, putting the book aside._

_You shook your head and returned the pillow so Loki could use it. He climbed onto the bed and got under the covers with you, and you reached out and locked your arm around his back as he did the same for you, gently snaking his left arm under you and pushing his hand up your shirt, brushing his fingertips against your bare skin._

_You hummed and closed your eyes, hooking your leg up and around his waist. His right hand went down and grabbed your thigh, bringing it up higher._

_“Is this okay?” He asked in a quiet voice, rubbing the underside of your thigh with his fingers. You pressed your face into his neck, nodding and giving him a kiss on his throat. You played with his hair, gently tugging it as you fell asleep._

 

 

You opened your eyes, this time in reality, to see the dark metal ceiling of the ship. You rubbed your eyes, recalling your dream with a soft sigh. Loki was so... soft. Gentle.

You moved your head to look over at him; his blanket was half off of him and a few strands of hair were resting on his cheek. You fell back onto your pillow, closing your eyes.

Loki, Loki... did you love him?

You were definitely attracted to him, in your past you loved him, but did you love him now? When you were with him, you felt a need to hold him, to understand him. You could almost say that you loved him.

Almost.

The things he had done still wandered around in your mind, but you weren’t sure he had actually done it. You didn’t feel any sort of way about it. It was like if you were told a story about an adventurer who had lived a long, long, time ago. It didn’t affect you directly, so you didn’t feel so much about it.

You silently threw the blanket off of you and swung your legs over the bed, remembering at the last second before standing that Bucky was sleeping there. You looked down at his sleeping body, his left arm resting over his stomach. You tiptoed over him and to Loki and knelt down, stroking the hair out of his face.

You straddled his chest and kissed his cheek. You lusted over him, especially after your Soul Bond dreams, since in there the two of you were alone together, he could be allowed to talk to you freely, hold you freely.

You moved your lips to his nose and kissed him there. “Loki.” You whispered, trying to wake him up. “Loki...” you mummered, kissing his lips.

God, they were so soft.

You whispered his name again, rubbing his toned arms. He lifted his head and kissed you back with a sleepy smile. He stopped and rested his head on the floor, “Excited, are we?” He asked, using that same grin from your dream.

You nodded, biting your lower lip. He raised an eyebrow as you ran your fingers on the inside of the waistband of his pants.

“Come here.” He hummed, and you obeyed, meeting your lips with his and kissed you passionately and dominantly. You lifted his shirt up to expose his chest, rubbing your hands in large circles. You broke your kiss to press your lips to the skin on his torso, making him breath in deeply and goosebumps to rise over him.

You pecked kisses over the small birthmarks on his chest then started placing opened mouthed kisses farther down his tight stomach, causing him to let out a long, breathy moan.

“(Y/n)...” He warned, breathing heavily, “Do not tease me.”

“Or what?” You asked playfully, sitting up with a smirk, “I think you’re too tied up to do anything at the moment.”

“You forget, tigress, that I will be in these chains for only so long, until Thor or Tony come around.”

Your playful face fell, and you looked away with a huff.

Loki mentioning the two other men completely turned you off, ruining the moment. It was true they could have come any second before, catching you in a compromising situation, but you had forgotten about them, too caught up in your own feelings. You had even forgotten about Bucky, who was still sleeping only a few yards away from the two of you.

Loki sensed your change of mood, “What’s wrong?”

You rolled your eyes, getting off of him, “Nothing.”

Loki was confused; what just happened? “Tell me.” He asked as you walked to your bed.

Careful not to step on Bucky, you fixed the pillows and blanket.

Loki exhaled loudly, “Was it because I mentioned _them_?” “Maybe. _Maybe_ mentioning your brother and my uncle _might_ turn me off, maybe.” You said sarcastically.

“Well, I’m sorry.” He said with a slight angry temper laced in his words.

It’s not like that was going to fix anything. You most likely weren’t going to go all the way with him just a minute ago, but you would still have liked to release some tension.

Finished making your bed, you took a backwards step over Bucky.

You glanced over to Loki, his shirt bunched up to his neck, his eyes gazing into yours.

He raised his eyebrow again as his mouth turned into a smirk, making your insides melt. You sighed and went back to Loki as you realized that you couldn’t be mad at him.

“I’m sorry that I ruined the moment, tigress.” He said, watching you tug down his shirt and rest your head on his chest, looking at him.

“It’s alright. I’m sure we’ll get more chances later on.” You said.

He gazed down at you lovingly with a grin, “I cannot wait until such time.”

You blushed and closed your eyes, regaining that warm feeling in your stomach.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really, thank you so much to Thelynnlynn, they had let me know that something didn’t make sense in the chapter before and after this, and I looked and I didn't post this chapter in between the two! I really like this chapter and I would have been so upset that you guys wouldn't have been able to read it. So thank you, Thelynnlynn <3 <3


	39. Clubbing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2017 everyone!! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays! Loki wears a black suit in this chapter, and we ALL know which suit that is *heart eyes*

 

“It’s just like flying an airplane, (Y/n). Pull back for up, push forward for down.” Tony instructed.

“I don’t know how to fly a plane.” You said, moving your hand to the lever on the left arm rest and gently pushed it forward, maybe gaining some speed would help you steer.

“You want to gently bank to the right here.” Peter said, resting his hand on your shoulder. You nodded and slowly moved the joystick to a north-east direction, guiding the ship around a large asteroid.

“Is it really necessary to go to a club?” You asked, concentrating on keeping the speed and the direction steady.

“Is it really necessary to get your memories back? No.” Rocket said, getting into the co-pilots chair, “You _want_ to. I know plenty of guys who continued living after having their memories taken or lost. You could continue like them, but you _want_ your memories, just like Peter, Groot, and I want to go to a club.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Me too. I need a lot of alcohol and loud music.” Tony said. Just as the ship banked around the asteroid, you saw it. It was a large, black, iridescent building with blue, violet, and red lights glowing around the top. All around the building were parked ships of all shapes and sizes.

“In space you still have to look for parking.” Tony scoffed.

“Okay, I’ll park her.” Peter said. You nodded and removed yourself from the chair, Peter quickly replacing himself and taking the controls.

“I’m gonna go get dressed.” You said, patting your uncle on the shoulder and passed him. You went down the flight of stairs and walked through the common area to your room. You quickly got dressed in your blue robes and you felt the ship shudder as it landed. You exited your room and found Tony in the common area, watching Gamora go down the ladder.

Tony snapped his fingers, “Right. Remind me when we come back to give you that journal.”

You nodded.

“Hey.”

You turned and saw a Bucky come up behind you with a questioning look on his face.

“We’re home?” He asked, going to the center of the room and following you down the ladder.

“No. The Guardians wanted to go to a club, so a club they found.” You said boringly.

“They have clubs in space?” Bucky asked as you gave him space to detach from the ladder.

“I guess. I guess everything’s everywhere in space.” You said, trailing behind Tony and the Guardians.

“I was wondering...” you began nervously, and Bucky faced you, “if when we get back to the ship if you could show me how to fight?”

“Yeah, no problem.” He smiled.

“Thanks. Because when we get back home I _really_ want to start helping save people.” That had been set on your mind, and you were eager to go back to the way things were. You looked around at the asteroid as you walked down the ramp, taken away from the breathtaking view of the sky. There were other large asteroids floating in the sky, hoisted there like large, brown clouds.

“I will never get used to this.” Bucky said, running his hand over a shiny, red rocket. “In the forties, all of this was just... far flung dreams, a desire that couldn’t be had until generations later.”

The two of you followed your group to the entrance of the building, waiting in the short line. There were only a few lights coming from the base, so it was almost pitch black.

“We came just in time.” Rocket said, rubbing his hands together, “People usually come a little later.” You nodded, stealing glances from people ahead of you.

A group of women in risqué clothing were in front of your group, to which Tony, Peter, and Rocket were eyeing and whispering to each other about.

“They don’t have anything like this in Asgard.” Thor said from behind you.

Loki caught your eye and you blushed, looking away and rubbing the back of your neck.

“What’s Asgard like?” Bucky asked.

“It’s different than Midgard in many ways. There’s more nature—” “Not as much as Alfheim.” Loki said, putting his hand on your waist.

“Yes. We have this Observatory...”

You felt Loki step closer to you; not close enough to have his body touching you, but just enough to feel your personal space be entered. He brushed his lips over the side of your neck, teasing you and cause a nice shiver to go through you. You closed your eyes, feeling his cool breath tickle you.

You would have been listening to Thor, you would have been eager to hear about what Asgard was like, but with Loki massaging your waist and hearing him make a low and seductive growl in your ear while gently kissing you there, you could say you were a little more than distracted. You were surprised that Loki was still turned on and that was hours ago since you had woken up and your craving for him had slipped away, but apparently he still had you on his mind, and in his hands. You tried pushing his hand away but he only persisted by kissing the side of your neck.

“Loki...” you whispered. You weren’t even seven feet away from the others and he was touching you and turning you on.

If Tony caught you...

“See? No one likes to be teased.” Loki said, pressing his entire palm against your stomach, pinning you against his chest.

“Loki, they might hear us, or see us.” You said, turning your head to look at him.

“Oh, but I like this. Teasing you and having you in front of the others, with them not knowing what was going on behind their back.” He whispered, slowly hiking up your dress. You grabbed his hands with yours, stopping him when the bottom of your dress was lifted above your knees. You thanked the universe that the area was so poorly lit, hiding Loki’s inappropriate actions and the red blush that dusted your face. He dropped your linen skirt, letting it fall to it’s normal length then gently running his hands up the back of your thighs and over your rear, resting them there as you let out a stifled sigh.

“L-Loki... please...” But you didn’t want him to stop. You leaned into his touch, biting your lower lip and wishing the two of you could go somewhere private.

“Oh, you know what I just realized?” Peter said, turning around to face Thor and Loki, whom you jumped away from. “You two should probably wear something not so...” Peter gestured to his body, “royal.”

“Yes.” Gamora agreed, turning around as well, “If anyone else had heard of his bounty,” she waved her hand to Loki, who gave her scowl, “it would be very easy to spot him in that clothing.”

“Alright.” Thor said, placing his hand on his brothers’ arm in a controlling manner.

“There’s usually always a place to buy clothes from on the other side of the building.” Rocket chimed in, taking apart the watch Tony had given him.

“Thank you.” Thor nodded, then stepped out of line.

“You’ll like what you see me come back in.” Loki whispered to you, then followed his brother with a content feeling and a smirk on his face. He walked a little taller, a little more boastful knowing he could still get you excited like that. Granted he never thought otherwise, but when you had rose from your coma with no memories, he had worried that you wouldn’t feel anything for him, bruising his heart immensely. When you had run from him, when you had cried because of him, he lost any hope he had. But then you had gone to him. And then you had held him. And then you kissed him and he was home.

“What has got you in such a good mood?” Thor asked with a quizzical smile.

“Nothing.” Loki said, dropping his smile.

Thor turned to the right, going around the club building. “It was your session with (Y/n), wasn’t it?” Thor suggested.

“No.” Loki lied. He didn’t know whether Thor would run back to Tony and tell everything.

Thor looked forward, dropping the subject. “There.” He pointed, a dark orange building that showed a few holographic models stood in the windows, showing off the latest clothing. Thor pushed through the door first, a small gong ringing above the door.

Loki rolled his eyes and followed Thor farther inside, looking at the clothes and accessories.

“What’re you looking for?” A man asked as he lit a cigarette looking object, a pair of yellow antennas sticking from his forehead twitched as he took a long pull.

“Do you have something in our size?” Thor asked, turning to face him.

“Prince Thor!” The man dropped to one knee and put his right fist over his heart.

Jealousy flared inside Loki, but he kept a face of indifference.

“You may rise.”

The shop owner quickly stood, “Are— are you looking for something specific?” The man asked, going over the Thor. He cast a worried eye over Loki, then looked back at the blonde man.

“Something casual, preferably Midgardian. That people wouldn’t easily recognize.”

“Ah! Come this way.” The man lead the brothers down a row of hanging clothes, Loki gently ran his hand along them, feeling the different and strange fabrics.

“You’re going to the club, am I correct?” The man asked, blowing smoke from his his nostrils.

“Yes.” Thor answered shortly, then stopped suddenly and pulled out a denim jacket, looking at the front and back.

“Oh, yes, yes! Do you like that?” He asked, his antennae twitching again.

“Uh, ye—” “That will go good with this!” He pulled out a dark red shirt from another rack along with plain black pants. “You can go try them on in there!” The man pointed across the room suddenly, and Loki was slowly suspecting what he was smoking was a form of intoxicator.

Thor awkwardly nodded and wove around the rack, going to the dressing room. The smoking man looked at Loki, “W-would you like help looking for something?”

Loki thought about it for half a second then said no, walking away. He could find his own outfit, thank you very much, without the help of a half clear-headed man. He leafed through the tall racks, looking through the suits. Yellow, checkered, blue, blue, checkered, stripped, polkadot, polkadot again, then he found it.

Loki smirked, plucking the hanger off and running the black tie through his hands.

Yes, he like this one. He swiftly crossed the room and entered the dressing room and found an empty stall, hanging his outfit on a metal knob and closed the door behind himself, locking it. He started unbuckling and unlatching his armor, taking each piece off and placing it on the table next to him. He was completely shirtless and caught himself in the mirror then grinned, finding you had left a few light bruises on his stomach.

Before his attempted control of Asgard, he didn’t know you could get as riled up as you did a few hours ago. He chuckled to himself, removing his pants as well and started putting on the suit. Coal black pants with a matching dress shirt, tie, and suit jacket. He ran his hands through his hair, looking at his reflection; damn, he was smoking. With the proper shoes, the outfit would be complete. And he couldn’t wait until you saw him in it.

 

 

It was loud, it was crowded, and you preferably wished that you weren’t there. Now you were sitting in a round booth with Tony and Bucky on your sides with Peter, Groot, Drax, Gamora, and Rocket occupying the rest of it. The bright party lights swirled around the room, occasionally hitting you in the eye and making you wince. You looked around, anxiously waiting for Loki to return.

“Wanna dance?” Tony asked loudly, to be heard over the blaring music.

You hesitantly looked out to the crowd of people, then into Tony’s hopeful eyes, and you smiled.

“Sure.”

He took your hand as the two of you stood.

“Finally, Thor. Nice jacket.” Tony said, causing you to turn, and your mouth dropped as your eyes landed on the younger brother.

Loki smirked at your expression, and you closed your mouth.

He was... you almost dropped to your knees right then and there. Your insides felt gooey as you watched him run a hand through his black hair and sit down after his brother did.

“(Y/n).” Tony said, and tugged you into the crowd as the next song started, and it was announced that the name of the song was ‘Under Pressure’ by Queen.

“This one’s great! Queen is a legend!” Tony told you. You held his hands as the two of you danced together. You laughed at some of his moves, and he laughed as well. Everyone started singing when the song came on,

 

 

_Pressure! Pushing down me, pushing down on you no man asked for._

_Under pressure, that brings a building down, splits a family in two, puts people on streets._

 

 

You tried to mumble along.

 

 

_That’s okay!_

_That’s the terror of knowing what this world is about, watching some good friends screaming ‘let me out’!_

_Pray tomorrow gets me higher, pressure on people, people on streets_

 

 

A few people bumped into you, but there wasn’t a confrontation like you had expected. The bright lights flashed on the stage, making you dizzy and disoriented, but as long as you saw Tony, you felt safe.

 

 

_Chipping around, kicking my brains around the floor, these are the days that it never rains but it pours._

 

 

The music was blaring, crowd was jumping and singing and dancing.

 

 

_People on the streets!_

_Ee da de da de, people on the streets, ee da de da de da de da, it’s the terror of knowing what this world is about..._

 

 

you had this amazing feeling of happiness. You didn’t want this night to end. Eventually, the song ended, and a few people applauded, including you and Tony. You smiled at him and took his hand, saying, “I’m gonna take a break and head back to the table.”

He nodded then said, “Okay. I’ll go, too.” You then squeezed passed a few people to get back to the table. When you got to the clearing, you were confused, but then you saw the top of Groot’s head, and went in that direction with Tony. When you approached the table, you grinned at Bucky and the others, “That was so fun!”

Tony smiled, and you smiled at him then reached for a cup of what looked like water (which Peter confirmed as you picked it up) and poured one for Tony and the two of you clinked your cups together and drank.

You got really excited when the next song started to play, and you instantly recognized it as Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’. You saw Peter ask Gamora is she wanted to dance, but she quickly said no.

“Wanna dance?” You asked him, and he eagerly nodded. He crawled under the table, then stood up when he got to the other side.

“I have no idea who the singer, but it sounds great!”

 

 

_I got this feeling, inside my bones,_

_it goes electric wavy when I turn it on,_

 

 

you took Peter’s hand, waved bye to Tony, and led him onto the dance floor,

 

 

_All through my city,_

_all through my home,_

_we’re flying up no ceiling when we in our zone._

 

 

You smiled, dancing with Peter, the two of you dropping sick moves together.

 

 

_I got that sunshine in my pocket, I got that good song in my feet,_

 

 

Thor sighed, watching his brother look at you as you danced. Loki clenched his fist,

  
_I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops, ooh,_

 

 

Loki watched the two of you dance; you had your back turned to Peter and he had your wrists in his hands, waving your arms around like an octopus and causing you to burst out laughing. Loki swallowed, feeling jealousy eat at his insides.

He glared at Peter; no one else than Loki himself should make you laugh like that. He very tensely smoothed out his black suit, then his hair, and let out a deep breath before going out to the dance floor as well.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Loki's still got a fire in him. And thank you all so much for your kudos and nice comments!! 
> 
> Also, prepare for angst. Quite a bit. *flipd through the next few chapters* yeah I'd say a lot of angst. :)


	40. The Dance Of Regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double post, because you deserve it!

 

_I can’t take my eyes up off it,_

_moving so phenomenally,_

_you gonna like the way we rock it, so don’t stop._

 

 

You laughed when Peter started doing the moonwalk, and ended it with a spin and pointing finger-guns at you, making you laugh harder, covering your mouth.

 

 

_Under the lights, when everything goes,_

_nowhere to hide when I’m getting you close,_

_when we mooove well you already know, so just imagine, just imagine, just imagine,_

 

 

It drove you insane how high Justin Timberlake could get his voice.

 

 

_Nothing I can see but you when you dance, dance, dance,_

_feeling good, good, creeping up on you so just dance, dance, dance— come on._

_All those things I shouldn’t do but you dance, dance, dance aaand ain't nobody leaving soon, so keep dancing!_

 

 

You heard women screaming from excitement behind you, but you ignored it,

 

 

_I can’t stop the feeling, so just dance, dance, dance,_

_I can’t stop the feeling, so just dance, dance, dance, come on—_

_ooh, it’s something magical,_

 

 

you heard the women screaming again and you turned, trying to see in-between the bodies, but then turned back to Peter and continued dancing,

 

 

_it’s in the air, it’s in my blood, it’s rushing on,_

_don’t need no reason, don’t need control,_

_I fly so high, no ceiling, when I’m in my zone,_

 

 

the women screamed in delight again, and you huffed in annoyance then stopped dancing. Some people in front of you got off the floor, letting you see what all the hullabaloo was about, and you wished you hadn’t.

It was Loki with a swarm of swarm of women and men around him, dancing up against him. He had one woman who was wearing a dress— if you called it a dress, seeing how short it is— with her back pressing against his chest, and her hands were running through his hair. Loki’s arms were around her waist, drawing circles with his fingertips on her stomach as he was grinding his hips against her. You had a sudden feeling of betrayal and hurt. You felt a nonexistent hand slap you in the face, jumbling your brain.

 

 

_When we mooove, well you already know,_

 

 

And it felt like someone stepped on your chest. You turned away and faced Peter, breathing hard. You looked at your table; Tony and Gamora were talking, and Bucky, Rocket, Drax, and Groot were holding a serious conversation, and Thor was looking in the same direction where Loki was, and then looked over to you.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Peter asked, putting his hand on your shoulder.

“I’m fi—” You pressed the heels of your hands to your eyes, letting out a sob and started crying.

“What happened?” He asked, taking your arm and guiding you to the table, but you removed your hands and said, “No! I-I don’t want Tony to see me crying.” Peter then guided to to an empty table out of earshot of the others and you sat down, covering your face and crying openly.

 

 

As soon as Thor made eye contact with you, knew something was wrong. He looked back to where his brother was and it clicked. Thor quickly stood and went over to where his brother was dancing.

Loki was still grinding hard against that girl, but when Thor approached his group, everyone else scattered.

“Loki.” Thor growled.

Lokk stopped dancing, rolled his eyes, then turned to his “brother”.

“Go.” Thor demanded, and the woman scurried off.

“Why did you do that?”

“What? Dance?” Loki asked. “You drew enough attention to you—”

“That was the point.” Loki said, smiling.

“And you and your... people caused such a ruckus that (Y/n) saw you and that woman.”

Loki’s smile fell, and he immediately looked regretful and horrified, searching behind Thor for you.

“Where is she, Thor?” He asked anxiously. Thor pointed to his left, “She and Peter went off—” Loki shoved passed him and dashed to the direction Thor was pointing to.

 

 

Peter held you with one arm around your back and the other stroking your hair.

“What are you doing here?” Peter asked, and you opened your eyes and say Loki standing there.

He knelt down, “Please, (Y/n) I-I didn’t know you were watching.”

“So would you have done it if even I weren’t here?” You asked, wiping the tears from your face. You looked at him, trying to read his face, but there was only sadness in his eyes. You angrily looked away.

“I...I was only angry and feeling... I needed to let off stea—”

“I hate you.” You snapped, glaring at him, and he looked incredibly hurt.

He rubbed a hand over his eyes.

“I hate you, Loki. I hate how you make me feel horrible, and I hate how you make me cry. I hate your face; your stupid eyes and your stupid voice. I hate how you make me feel these _things_.” You said venomously.

Loki lowered his hand and looked up at you as you wiped away the fresh tears from your cheeks. You looked away from Loki and to the table, sniffling. You let out a shaky breath, pressing your hand to your forehead.

“It’s midnight now, and now it’s time for the classics.” And a slow song with a piano started to play, and the announcer said it was called ‘Downtown’.

Peter rubbed your arm again and you let out another breath, listening to the music.

 

 

_When you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go downtown,_

  
“Would you like to dance?” Loki asked, and you turned to him, seeing he was standing. You licked your lips, and looked hesitantly at his extended hand.

 

 

“Please?”

 

 

_When you’ve got worries, all the noise and the hurry seems to help I know, downtown._

 

 

You found yourself letting go of Peter and taking Loki’s hand. He led you gracefully to the dance floor where it was mostly empty except for a few couples dancing slowly.

 

 

_Just listen to the music of the traffic of the city,_

_linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty._

_How can you lose?_

 

 

Loki tugged you close and delicately put his left hand on your waist and held your right hand, lacing his pale fingers with your metallic ones. “Put your other hand on my shoulder.” He said quietly, and you did.

 

 

_The lights are so much brighter there,_

_you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares, and go downtown!_

 

 

Loki took a step backwards, and you followed him, dancing.

 

 

_Things’ll be great when you’re downtown,_

_no finer place for sure, downtown,_

_everything’s waiting for you._

 

 

You followed Loki as he danced you in a slow circle, swaying side to side with you. You quickly wiped away another tear, then put your hand back on his shoulder. Your cheeks burned as you felt him watching you, and you quickly looked up to meet his eyes, and he looked away, swallowing. You sighed, lowering your gaze down to his chest.

 

 

_Don’t hang around and let your problems surround you, there are movie shows, downtown._

 

 

“I’m sorry.” He said, stroking your hand with his thumb.

 

 

_Maybe you know some little places to go where they never close, downtown._

_Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossanova, you’ll be dancing with ‘em too before the night is over, happy again._

 

 

“I wish I could remember. I wish... I wish things were different.” You said, holding yourself closer to him so that you were almost touching.

“As do I.”

 

 

_The lights are much brighter there,_

_you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go downtown, where all the lights are bright, downtown,_

_waiting for you tonight, downtown, you’re gonna be alright now. Downtown, downtown!_

 

 

The trumpet solo began, and Loki let go of your waist and held you at arms length and you twirled under his arm, spinning slowly back to him, a matching smile on both of your faces.

 

 

_Downtown._

 

 

You ignored his hand in the air and rested your arms on both of his shoulders, lacing your hands together behind his neck. He rested his hands on your waist again, moving you with him slowly.

 

 

_And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you,_

_someone who is just like you and need a gentle hand to guide them along._

 

 

Loki smiled at the song lyrics, gazing into your eyes, and you smiled back. He saw you smiling, with him, and he felt like he was home.

 

 

_So maybe I’ll see you there,_

_we can forget all our troubles, forget all out cares and go downtown,_

_things’ll be great when you’re downtown,_

_don’t wait a minute more, downtown._

 

 

Seeing Loki happy made you happy, and you wanted to stay in this moment forever.

 

 

_Everything’s waiting for you... downtown, downtown, downtown..._

 

 

As the song started to end, Tony tensely watched you and Loki dance.

“I... I don’t get it. Even with no memories of him... she still falls in love with him.”

“Maybe he’s not as bad as you think.” Bucky snapped. He hated people when they judged before getting to know the person.

And he was happy for you.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo.... what'dya think? Comment reactions if you wish! The angst is just around the corner.......


	41. Hold Me Like You Used To

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is TWICE as long as a usual chapter (this is around 4,500?) but I really didn't want to break this into two separate chapters...
> 
> Also, does what go on in this chapter count as smut? I don't really know there the line from making out turns to smut, but would you please let me know in the comments? Thanks!

 

You let go of Loki as another song started. “One more?” He asked, gently catching your hand as a gentle piano started to play.

“Okay.”

He pulled you close, resting his hand on your waist and your right hand you laced your fingers with his again.

 

 

_“I’ve heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord,_

_But you don’t really care for music, do ya?”_

 

 

You were surprised that Loki was singing to you and his voice seemed to flow over you, dripping with silver.

 

 

_“It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift! The baffled king composing Hallelujah...”_

 

 

Loki serenaded you, making your skin and stomach grow hot.

 

 

_“Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.”_

 

 

His breath tickled your neck as he slid his hand to rest his palm against your lower back.

 

 

_“Your faith was strong but you needed proof, you saw her bathing on the roof._

_Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya._

_She tied you to a kitchen chair, she broke your throne, she cut your hair and from your lips she drew the Hallelujah,”_

 

 

The way he made his voice go up and down melted your insides in a pleasant way and made your knees weak. He felt you shift in his arms and he gently guided you to press your entire body against him, causing you to bite your lower lip and suppress a gasp as he continued to dance the two of you in a circle, pressing everything good against you.

 

 

_“Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.”_

 

 

You leaned your forehead against the side of his jaw, closing your eyes.

 

 

_“Maybe I have been here before, I know this room, I’ve walked this floor, I used to live alone before I knew you._

_I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch, love is not a victory march, it’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah...”_

 

 

His lips moved gently against your ear and you lifted your hand from his shoulder to stroke his neck.

 

 

_“Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah..._

_There was a time you let me know what’s real and going on below, but now you never show it to me, do you?_

_And remember when I moved in you? The holy dark was moving too, and every breath we drew was Hallelujah...”_

 

 

Every time his voice rose it caused a chill to run through you, and you dug your nails into his skin gently.

 

 

_“Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.”_

 

 

He sniffled and sang even softer,

 

 

_“Maybe there’s a god above, and all I ever learned from love was how to shoot at someone who outdrew ya._

_And it’s not a cry you can hear at night, it’s not somebody who’s seen the light it’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.”_

 

 

You could feel his warm tears run down the side of your neck and you rubbed the back of his, carding your fingers through the long hair there. He stopped singing to you when he made a croaking sound.

 

 

_Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah..._

 

 

The two of you stopped dancing and simply stood there, holding each other. There weren’t words for you to describe anything to him. You pulled back and looked at him; his cheeks and eyes were glistening with tears.

He let out a shaky breath, looking at the ground. You stroked his cheek and he met your eyes. You lifted your other hand to cup his face and you bent his head down slightly as you got on the tips of your toes and gave a feather light kiss to the the center of his forehead, making him let out a sob and wrap his arms around your waist.

This was just a man in your arms; a broken man in many ways, but a man nonetheless. And men had needs. And this man needed you to help him. You released his head and he stood up straight as you took his hand, guiding him to an empty booth that was against the wall.

“But wait about Tony and the others?”

“Forget about them.” You said, blowing out the candle on the table, causing the area within a few feet to grow darker. Loki sat down on the leather seats and you joined, straddling his thighs and breathing heavy. “We have a past together, I accept that now. We were something together. And I think I want to go back to that.” You said.

Loki nodded and hastily cupped your face and brought it to his, kissing your lips. You sighed, tilting your head to the side as you felt his warm hand push aside the skirt of your dress and rest on your knee. He gently nipped at your lower lip before moving to your neck. You placed your hand at the back of his head, holding him there as he slowly moved his hand up your leg, stopping every few inches, then continuing. You closed your eyes and hummed approvingly, leaning your head back as he massaged you with his soft lips.

He moved his hand farther up your leg then suddenly stopped, leaning back and letting out a groan.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, starting to unbutton his black shirt. He held your hands with his, making them still and said breathlessly, “Not here. Not—”

“In the ship?” You suggested eagerly.

“No. Not yet.”

What? Did he not want you?

“But Loki... I...” You sat up on your knees, grabbing his wrists and pressing his hands to the back of your thighs and he gently squeezed them.

“I know, I know. But we should wait. Until you get your memories back.”

You whimpered, looking down at him. “What if I don’t get them back? I can’t... I’m not going to wait forever.”

“I know. And neither can I. It’s a miracle I’m even controlled right now.” He said, giving your thighs another squeeze. “But believe me,” he said, moving his hands up to grasp your ass then pushed you against him. You let out a surprised squeak as you suddenly felt the dominant air around him, “when I have you, everyone will know. I will make you mine. I will make you awe-struck and beg for more.”

Your eyes widened when he finished his sentence. You let out a deep breath; you needed him to hold you, to touch you. But you also needed him for much more than physical contact. He emotionally wooed you, including his words. He was a gentleman, was polite to you, and so far he respected you. Wasn’t that all you needed in a happy relationship?

“Let’s get back to the others before they start getting suspicious of where we went off to.”

You felt discouraged and upset. All of these pent up emotions, all the teasing... it would drive you insane unless you had a release. You got off of him and stepped aside, allowing him to stand as well. He looked out onto the dance floor, straightening his jacket and doing the top two buttons you had undone.

You gritted your teeth and let out another breath, wishing that all this raw attraction in you would ebb away quickly.

“So, have the two of you decided where the wedding is going to be?”

You gasped, turning and seeing Tony standing there with the pure expression of rage on his face.

You put a protective hand across Loki’s chest, “T-Tony, I can—”

“Enough!” He snapped, grabbing Loki by the throat and dragging him across the large room. You followed them and grabbed your uncles’ arm, “Tony! Please—”

“(Y/n), I am _done_ letting you make descicions.” Tony growled, picking up the pace.

You were on the verge of tears as Tony ignored you. “Please!” You shouted, shaking his arm.

Tony shoved you and you stumbled, falling backwards. You saw Loki knee your uncle in the stomach, who then gave him a hard slap to the face with the back of his hand before pulling him out of the club.

“What happened?” Peter asked, helping you to a stand.

You watched as the rest of your group quickly left the club as well, wanting to see all the commotion was with Tony. You shook his hand off and raced outside, shoving people out of your way as you burst through the door.

You panted, looking around the sea of a crowd that wanted to get inside. You quickly spotted Groot and the others far away, and you ran through the people to get to them.

“Tony, stop!” You screamed. Everyone was a good several feet away from your uncle who had a tight grip on the front of his shirt, half dangling Loki off the edge of the asteroid. “Thor, do something!” You begged, your tears spilling from your eyes.

Tony reached inside his own jacket and pulled out a gun and point it at Loki.

No.

No, no, please.

“Do not take a step closer, Thor. I know you Asgardians have much more resistance to pain but I’m confident you’ll feel something at point blank.” He said, aiming the gun at Loki’s face.

You pulled at your hair as you let out a stressful sob.

“Put the gun away, Tony.” Bucky demanded.

“Yeah, man. We can talk this out.” Peter said, gently touching the gun at his thigh.

You shut your eyes and said loudly, “Tony, p-please.” You let out a shaky breath and pulled in an equally shaky one, “We can talk this through.”

“No, (Y/n), I am _done_. You do not respect me—”

“I respect yo—” You said in a squeaky voice, only to be cut off by Tony’s rude one, “You do _not_ respect me! Do you not understand that the way you are now is because of Loki?! Your arm, your memories, is all because of Loki!”

“I know, I know.” You sniffled loudly and took a step forward, “But killing him isn’t the answer.”

“He will find us again if we just let him go.”

You took another careful step forward and Loki’s worried eyes met yours, causing your tears to start falling again.

“It’s not like Thor will take him away. It’s not like he cares about you.”

“I do care.” Thor said.

“Tony, look at me.” You whimpered. You were close enough to reach out and touch him, “Please, look at me.” He turned his head, meeting your eyes. He was crying as well with his mouth quivering.

“I will stop this with Loki, okay?” You said, wiping away your continual fall of tears. “I won’t talk with him, I won’t be near him. Y-you can have Jarvis keep an eye on me. Just please don’t hurt him.”

“Really?” Tony asked, lowering his hand that held the gun. You nodded. He let go of Loki and you frantically reached for him, terrified.

Loki hit the ground safely and held his hand out to you, stopping you.

Bucky came up from behind you and held his hand out for your uncle to give up the gun. He did so willingly, and received a punch in the face, knocking him to the ground, out cold.

You looked at your uncle, then to Loki, who was looking up at you with wet eyes. That’s when you lost it.

You shook your head and fell to your knees as you pressed your hands against your eyes and cried harder. It wasn’t fair! Why did you have to give up your happiness to please Tony? You punched the ground and let out a scream.

Why?

You let out a sob and ran your hands through your hair, and you felt a hand press against your shoulder. You opened your eyes as saw Loki there, looking at you sadly. You threw yourself at him, shaking and crying. He rubbed your back as your tears were soaked up by his black jacket.

“It will be fine, it’ll get better. We’ll get better.” He cooed, and you shook your head and pressed yourself further into his chest, mumbling into his shoulder. “Tigress, I-I don’t understand what you’re saying.” He said, adding a small chuckle to his sad sounding voice.

You removed your face from his shoulder and repeated, “I don’t w-want to l-l-lose you.”

“You won’t, I can promise you that.” He whispered, gently rocking you. Loki took your hand and you shook your head again. He kissed your fingers and you let out a deep breath. “We should get back into the ship.” Loki suggested, kissing your ring finger.

You shook your head.

You didn’t want to be in the same state as Tony, let alone sleep across the hall from him.

“The sooner we get back to the ship, the sooner we get to Midgard, the sooner you can get your memories back. Okay?” He said, convincing you. You agreed, and he helped you stand on trembling legs. He laced his fingers with yours as the two of you walked to the Milano. You saw Thor carrying Tony and you halted as you started panicking.

“Come here.” Loki said, turning you and picking you up.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, “He’s going to take you aw-w-way from me.” You cried, tightening your legs around his chest.

“Don’t say that.” Loki said, entering the large spaceship.

“He will, he will.”

“Shh, shh.”

“I don’t want to lose you. Please, Loki. I... I think I love you.”

Loki swallowed the lump in his throat. He ran his hand down your back and whispered, “I love you too, (Y/n).”

“Then take me away.” You asked.

“I would, I would love to do just that (Y/n), but your memories—”

“I don’t care, I just want to be happy.”

“No, _I_ want you to have your memories. I want you to know yourself. I want you to know about us in the past.” He need to keep calm, he needed to be steady for you. You had asked that of him only a few days ago. He couldn’t crack in front of you. He pushed his sadness deep down inside him and said, “We will have to play by the rules life has given us. The first chance we get to make amends with Tony, we have to try. But for now...” He let go of you and you got the message, releasing him and looking up at him with teary eyes.

“Lay low?” You suggested with a sniffle.

Loki nodded and you tackled him with a hug and he reciprocated.

“Tell me you love me.” You said, trying not to cry.

Loki kissed the top of your head, “I love you.”

“Again.”

“I love you.” He rubbed his hand in large circles on your back and tou let out a terribly shaky breath. “I love you, (Y/n). You have no idea how much.”

You nodded and slowly let go of him and he took your hands and searched your teary eyes with his, looking for something. “Come with me.” He released your hands and started up the ladder. You shook out your arms and let out a breath, trying to calm yourself and followed him up the ladder as you felt the ship shudder and lift off the ground.

He took your hand and helped you out of the hole and lead you down his darkened hall to the large glass window. The ship was quickly flying away from the asteroid, that terrible asteroid and club that sent you and Loki’s world crumbling.

“What is the main thing that you see?” He asked.

You looked. “Stars.” You told him with a slight sniffle.

“Yes,” he said, turning to you, “can you count them for me?”

You knit your eyebrows together in confusion and looked outside through the window, then back to him. “Count them?” You confirmed, and he nodded with a gently smile.

“I can’t.” You said.

“And why is that?” He wasn’t being condescending, no, but you were getting somewhat irked by these strange requests.

“Because there’s too many and there’s so much I can’t see.”

“Exactly. And that shows,” he suddenly lifted you in the air and making you gasp, wrapping his arms around your thighs. You rested your hands on his strong shoulders as he continued, “my queen, my love, my tigress, how much I love you. Endless; impossible to show but yet you know it’s there. It’s fact.” He started walking down the hall to your room. “(Y/n), there’s so much of me you don’t remember, but in time you will. You will remember us, and you will remember the extent of my love, how much I will do for you.” He said, and you started to feel the prickle of tears again. He was slowly letting you drop to the floor and you realized you were in front of your room.

No, no. You didn’t him to leave you. You wanted him, you _needed_ him. “Then take me away.” You asked, searching his face.

He shook his head, “I can’t, especially here. We have no means of travel.”

“Then when we get to Earth!” You compromised.

“When we get there, you will get your memories, then _maybe_  we can talk with Tony—”

“If getting my memories takes long, then I don’t want them!” You said, grabbing his arms and looking him in the eye, “Don’t you understand? I just want you... I know I’m supposed to be with you.” You were professing your love for him. You were willing to give up your memories and previous life for this... prince. A prince you hardly knew, but you felt at ease and comfortable with him like the two of you were friends and lovers for centuries.

He gently removed your hands from his arms and lifted your metal one to his lips, respectfully kissing you on your silver knuckles.

What did this mean?

Was he saying no?

Your heart hammered in your chest, waiting for his answer. With his free hand he touched the bottom of your chin and tilted your head up and pressed his mouth to yours in a soft kiss. You closed your eyes as his lips worked slowly against yours, pressing unspoken promises into your skin. He took your left hand and pressed it against his chest, right above his heart; it was beating fast.

“Do you feel that?” He asked in between kisses.

You nodded.

“As long as this is beating, as long...” He let out a frustrated moan and nudged your mouth open with his tongue, and you obliged with a moan, running your hands down his chest and causing him to shiver. Loki removed his hand from under your chin and slid his palm down your back to press you against him.

“...as long as my heart is beating, as long as I’m breathing, I will love you.” He panted. His quicker and more urgent kisses were making you lightheaded. “Even if we’re galaxies away, I will never love someone other than you.”

You nodded. You couldn’t let him go, he was just too... intense. You wanted more from him. “Can we...?” You nodded to your room as you felt him slow down the kiss and part, leaning his forehead against yours. You knew he wanted to.

He shook his head, “Regretfully, no. I wouldn’t feel right—”

“ ‘Without my memories’ I know, I know.” You rolled your eyes.

He looked deep into your orbs with his very dilated pupils. “Never doubt that I love you, (Y/n). There will be a right time and a right place.” He said and placed a bittersweet kiss on your lips before taking a step back and bowing to you. “I will see you soon, my tigress.” He stood up straight then gave you one last small smile before turning around, and walking down the hall the two of you came from. You entered your room and shut the door quietly behind you.

You held your tears behind your eyes as you changed into your pajamas and laid down on the bed, pulling the sheets over yourself. You stared at your door, hoping Loki would burst through it, say to hell with everything and take you away. A few minutes passed and your wishes weren’t granted.

 

 

Loki quickly strode to the bathroom, ignoring his brothers’ pathetic attempts to talk. Loki shut the door forcefully and locked it.

He wanted to kick and scream. He wanted to set fire and cause destruction and _rage_ and create mayhem, like he had done on Midgard and Asgard. He wanted Hel to reign down on all Nine Realms if that meant a chance at a life with you.

But he couldn’t.

He had a much stronger power controlling him: Tony.

He seethed at that name, at that man. A Midgardian, he thought bitterly as he paced, telling him what to do, manipulating him. His hands flexed into fists, opening and closing repeatedly with the desire to wrap them around Tony’s throat and squeeze until the last drop of life left that man’s body. This all could have been avoided if he hadn’t fallen in love with you, and stayed with the mission Odin had tasked him with: finding that Infinity Stone.

He clenched his jaw, looking murderously around the room, as if trying to find someone who dared challenge him. _Love_. He had once used it to get what he wanted from certain people, either power, knowledge, or for that amazing sensation.

But you... oh, you... you had used love in the proper way and not in the abusive way, effectively snatching Loki’s heart and mind. He had never let love control him like that before, other than when he and his mother were together and when he and Thor were younger. Maybe Sigyn and a few other lovers had controlled his heart, but he had let it happen, and he only let them take a small portion. But you... you had stolen it. Completely and ruthlessly, you had stolen his heart when he wasn’t looking, when he had least expected it.

And now he was paying.

Loki had always thought that love was a weakness, seeing how it could be used to create something or to destroy another when it was broken. He wished he didn’t have to experience the latter personally.

But... He sighed, sitting on the toilet lid and put his head in his hands, closing his eyes.

He loved it. He loved you. He loved that feeling you gave him, that singing feeling that shot through him whenever he saw or thought of you. The same sensation that he gained when he had used his magick.

But now, due to his greed and impatience, you were to be kept away from him for a long time. Loki was his own obstacle, and now he had to be even more careful. He would have to be silent, watchful, and gain information, and not overstep his boundaries.

Again.

That was risky business back there, kissing you at the club, but he couldn’t control it. He lusted over you, and he hated the fact that he had forgotten how you had felt in his arms, how your skin felt. How your lips felt. How you came apart in his mouth and said his name. He stood and took off his suit jacket, then tie. Maybe the two of you could run away together... start a new life, get married... He sighed, thinking of the actual logic. It couldn’t be possible.

He lifted his foot up to rest on top of the closed toilet seat, untied his shoe and removed it along with his sock, then did the same for the other.

Unless... no. He gritted his teeth and simply mumbled ‘hot shower’ and the shower did as it was asked.

Unless Thor could manage to get Loki’s savings and bring them to Midgard... he was sure they would find that as a form of currency and accept it. He could exchange his gold, get anything you needed and the two of you could leave. He let the hot water run over him, burning and searing him slightly.

He should have been punished, worse should have happened to him while you were in your coma. He should have been flogged, tortured, _something_ for hurting you the way he had. This burning water against his hidden Jötun skin and the rotting he felt in his heart was his punishment— for now —for making you cry. He wished he could stop hurting you, stop creating events that hurt you, but then again he wasn’t Heimdall.

Asgard. He thought at random, he wondered how it was fairing under Odin’s iron fist. Loki ran a hand through his slick hair, would the people tell their children of the day that Loki, King Thor’s monstrous brother, attempted to enslave their people? Of course. He wouldn’t be able to take three steps on Asgard before someone would attempt to kill him.

But what of his helping Thor rid of Makekith?

Would that change anyone’s thoughts?

Did Odin know?

 _He probably felt indifference if he knew_ , Loki mused.

But oh, if his mother knew. If his mother knew how much he tried to be good, to try to make things right, wouldn’t that count for something? Frigga... she had died— no, she had been _killed_ , trying to save her home she had loved so much. Loki could see her now, remembering how he had grabbed her and rushed her out of the room as he tried to dominate that world.

She had fought well; Loki had learned a lot of his fighting from her, and as that was, he had known what to expect. Loki winced, remembering how he had knocked her out and threw her over his shoulder like she was a mere bag of garbage, rushed outside and got onto those small chariots, flying her to the hidden cave where he had placed and chained Odin.

Tears welled up in Loki’s eyes as he remembered what his half-conscious mother had said to him as he chained her up as well.

_“My sweet boy, my baby prince, I know this is not you. I forgive you, all will be well.”_

No, Mother, Loki thought, everything is not well.

 _“I will still love you, for you are my son.”_ She had said. Loki shook his head, trying to blink away the tears. _“My darling boy...”_ He shook away the memory as his tears rolled down his cheeks.

That was the last time he had seen Frigga before her death.

Loki waved his hand in the air and the shower stopped. He stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist and let out a heavy breath. He gathered his clothes and left the steaming room and navigated through the hall to get to his room, pretending not to have seen Bucky and Gamora watch him enter his cell. He quickly changed into his night wear and laid down on his cot, closing his eyes and clasping his hands under his chin in a silent prayer, _Please, Mother, tell me what to do. Guide me, please._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... Loki. Everything is going so wrong for you and him..... (yet so deliciously right from my point of view)
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading this, giving me kudos and nice comments! I'm glad everyone is (hopefully) enjoying this. We're no where NEAR the ending, in case any of you were wondering. 
> 
> Also, this will be part of a series *cough cough* THE MOTHER TRUCKING MCU SO EVENTS IN MOVIES MAY HAPPEN IN HERE A.K.A INFINITY WARS *cough cough* but anyways, that'll be in part two. Hope you're hyped for the fiture of this fanfic! <3 <3 <3


	42. The Doctor Will See You Now...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has.... possibilities.

 

The next morning you avoided Tony as much as you could and talked to him even less, only giving him a quiet ‘thank you’ when he gave you an empty journal and a pen that read ‘Stark Industries’ on the side. You joined him and the others for dinner in the common area, keeping to yourself even when Bucky or Thor or the Guardians tried to subtly cheer you up. You propped your head up with your fist against your cheek, sitting at the work/dinner table you stirred your food that was smooth and thick, like someone had put pink food dye in mashed potatoes.

“So when can we start training?” You asked Bucky, your voice monotone.

“Training?” Tony asked, swallowing his food. He looked at the two of you.

You ignored him.

Bucky cleared his throat as he look from your uncle to you, “Whenever you like, really.”

“Training for what?” Tony asked again, looking to Thor, who shrugged, then looked back to the assassin.

“Great.” You said, poking at the soft food, “Maybe later today?”

“Sure.” Bucky said, then resumed eating.

“What are you training her for and why isn’t anyone telling me?”

“Because I’m a goddamn adult and I would like a scrap of happiness, especially if it reminds me of my past, which I do not remember.” You snapped, looking up at your uncle, “And so far Bucky’s one of the only people who’s successfully making me happy— the other one you made me not see because if I didn’t you would kill him— so yes, I’m going to let Bucky train me to fight like I used to because I want to and I need a distraction to all the misery you’re causing me.” You said, shoving yourself out of your chair and knocked it over as you left, walking back to your room.

Everyone looked at Tony, who gritted his teeth and looked back down at his food and muttered, “Understandable.”

You stayed in your room for the remainder of what the clock in your room said was day, not talking to anyone. You ignored the knocks that came every few hours, even when it was Bucky’s voice asking if you still wanted to train. “Not in the mood anymore.” You told him.

 

 

A few days passed since your outburst and Tony respected your space. You didn’t write in your journal as much as you thought; your emotions were so big and so changing you couldn’t put them into words. Sometimes you just scribbled in it or doodled nonsense.

You still had a question; like what was your nightmarish version of Loki looking for? You got off of your bed, going to talk to Thor. You left your room and headed for the common area.

Rocket was sitting in a corner fiddling with things, pulling at wires a and cutting them with his teeth. You folded your hands behind yourself and asked, “What’re making?”

“Bombs.” He answered plainly.

Your eyes widened. “What?”

“Don’t worry, they’re in a bag?”

“A bag?” You said incredulously.

“Yeah, Peter had a problem with them being in a box, so I moved them.” Rocket said, twisting two wires together.

“Al... right.” You said, rubbing your wrists, “Oh, by the way, have you seen Thor?”

“Yeah, just went up to talk to Peter and Gamora.” He pointed to the cockpit.

“Thanks.” You walked across the room and up the steps to the the Asgardian talking with Gamora, who was now taking control of the ship.

“Thor?” You asked, he turned, “Yes?”

“Can I talk to you? If this—” you gestured to Peter and Gamora, “—something important, you can stay—”

“It’s not important. We can talk.” He said with a warm smile, which you reciprocated. He walked down the stairs and greeted you with a gentle hand on your shoulder, “What would you like to talk about?” He asked.

“I was wondering... when I had that nightmare when we first got onto the ship, did Loki talk to you about it?”

Thor nodded, “Yes.”

“In my dream, he asked me to give something to him, but I didn’t hear him. Did he happen to tell you what it was?” Thor looked at Drax who just entered the room and started talking to Rocket. “Come with me.” Thor said, gently guiding you back to your room and shut the door behind himself. _Why couldn’t he tell me out there?_ You wondered.

He sat on your bed and patted the spot next to him, you sat there, looking up at him like a child to heir parent who was about to tell a bed time story.

“Loki had told me he had said he was looking for an Infinity Stone.” Thor said.

“What’s that?” You asked. It sounded important.

You rubbed your forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

“An Infinity Stone is an immensely powerful object. Before the universe began, six singularities existed. Some time after the universe exploded into existence, these were formed into the six Infinity Stones.” He counted on his fingers, “The Mind Gem, the Soul Gem, the Reality Gem, the Time Gem, the Space Gem, and the Power Gem. Each do different things, and each are equally as powerful. When Loki first tried to take over Midgard— Earth — he was given the Mind Gem by a man known as the Other, the leader of the Chitauri, to find the Tesseract, the Space Gem. The Mind Gem, when used upon a person, you can control their actions, what they do, and what they say. Anyone could be your puppet.”

You shivered. You couldn’t see Loki doing that, controlling people and removing their free will. You voiced that to Thor and he smiled, placing a hand on your knee in a kind gesture, “You made Loki a better man.”

You blushed and Thor removed his hand, continuing with his story, “After we had fought and captured him we removed the Mind Gem from his grasp, we gave the Mind Gem to S.H.I.E.L.D.—”

“Which were secretly the bad guys.”

“Yes. After that, we lost it. Luckily I had brought the Tesseract to Asgard where it is well hidden. I remember you were fascinated with it; you loved anything to do with space.” He chuckled.

You smiled through your increasingly painful headache, “It’s true. I feel like I could live out here forever.” You said, gesturing to the ship. “But what about the other five?” You asked, nervous of what could happen if they were to fall into the wrong hands.

“Loki and I encountered another one while you were in your coma. The Reality Gem, or the Aether. That one showed a friend of mine, Jane, a vision of death and destruction. It should form into anything; into the sharpest daggers or the smooth flow of water.”

You looked at him to continue; your headache was pounding and you winced, rubbing the right side of your head.

“Are you alright?”

_Pound. Pound. Pound._

“Just a headache.” You said, squeezing your eyes shut, “Continue.”

Thor began again with hesitance, “The last two, the Power Gem and the Soul Gem, we are unable to locate, but there one that was just within our grasp.”

“The Time Gem?”

“Yes. You had it.” Thor said, looking at you.

Your eyes widened with shock, “H-how? Do you know where it is? What was I doing with it?”

“Remember when Tony told you that you had powers?”

You nodded, massaging the side of your head. It was worse, now.

“You could also make portals. Anywhere. From here to Midgard, I’m sure you could have created one. I remembered there was a place you said you had gone to, a dimension you called the Dark Realm, that’s where you drew your powers from.”

“Woah.” You had forgotten that Tony even mentioned that you had powers, but right now you were absorbed in the pressure building in your skull and how you starting to get lightheaded.

“Indeed. You believed— we all believed that the Time Gem was kept hidden in the Dark Realm. That is what Loki was asking for.”

Then it clicked together. It made sense.

 _Don’t you remember?_ A small voice said to you, and you promptly collapsed to the ground.

 

 

When you awoke you found that your eyelids were extremely heavy, only able to see barely half of the room. Your head rolled onto the side of the pillow, a moan escaping your lips. You lifted your hands to cradle your head, a few tears of pain rolling down your cheeks.

How could a few words trigger you like this?

You felt something soft press against your burning forehead and you shut your eyes. You heard warbled sounds as if you were under water before you slipped into sleep again.

_Pound. Pound. Pound._

You had a strange sensation of tumbling backwards into darkness, not knowing what was going on in the real world. Tumbling, tumbling, backwards into your mind, into a heat that was slowly getting more intense. You suddenly fell into water, only a few degrees cooler than your increasing heat, and you suddenly heard a voice.

“Who are you?” He asked. You opened your eyes, only seeing black until the man entered the the top of your vision, and disappearing at the bottom.

“How did you get here?” He asked. You felt a faint hand at your back and your arm, stopping you from spinning. You looked sleepily up at him and found that you could see _through_ him.

 _I’m dead_ , you thought, _this guy’s a ghost_. You looked down at your hands; you were a ghost, too. You looked around the dark abyss of nothing. “This is the afterlife?” You asked.

“No. This is the Mirror Dimension. How did you get here? Through meditation? Are you a Sorcerer as well?”

 _A Sorcerer? The Mirror Dimension?_ You looked at the ghost man; he had dark brown hair with white whips just above his ears, and a dark brown goatee. He had a red billowing cape behind him and had a green glowing necklace.

Who the hell is this guy?

You looked at his necklace, it was beautiful and gave off an essence of a heartbeat. You reached out to touch it, it felt familiar. It felt like a heartbeat. He grabbed your wrist, looking at you with a stern face that meant ‘no’. You pulled your arm back, “What is that?” You asked.

“The Eye of Aggamotto. Who are you?”

“I’m... I’m... (Y/n). (Y/n) Stark.” A sense of glee spread through you. Yes, of course that’s who you were.

“As in the niece of Tony Stark?” He asked, his face serious.

You nodded, “Who are you?” He ignored the question and lifted your right arm then pushed aside your shirt to expose your shoulder, looking at the line where your metal arm met your skin.

“I’m Doctor Stephen Strange, I was your neurosurgeon when you had gotten into your accident. I thought you would die.”

You shook your head, “I wouldn’t know you, I don’t have my memories.” You told him, it was getting hotter, wherever you were. You pressed a hand to your face and let out a whimper.

“You were in a coma when I last saw you, are you still in it?”

You shook your head.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“It’s getting so hot.” You tried fanning yourself with your hand, it did very little.

“I feel fine. Something must be wrong with your vitals. What were you doing before you came here?” He asked, his voice calm but steady.

“I...” You tried thinking, you were in your room with Thor talking about something, then you had fainted. You told him that.

“Where are you? I can try to help you if I’m there in person.” He was a doctor, after all.

“Space.” You said, rubbing your forehead.

“Where? The I.S.S.? In a capsule?”

“No.” You winced, “Deep space, I-I think, Doctor Strange. It will take us weeks to get to Earth. We’re with people... aliens... they call themselves the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.”

You heard a rumbling sound and the doctor looked around in the darkness. You let out a gasp as you felt something very cool rest on your forehead.

“What was that?” He asked in a slightly accusatory tone.

“I-I don’t know.” You smiled, feeling the area around you that started to cool down. You let out a grateful sigh, feeling a sudden surge of compassion run through you.

“Are you a Sorcerer?” He asked again.

You shook your head, “I’m an Avenger.”

“What about a Masters of the Mystic Arts? Do you know of them?”

You felt a cold touch to your left cheek, and you lifted your hand up to touch it; a phantom kiss.

“No. What are they?”

“We are very powerful. We draw upon other dimension to preform magick. That’s a very pathetic way to describe it.” He said.

You felt yourself grow heavy and start to sink lower, and he seemed to have noticed, too, then pulled you back up to his height.

“You’re starting to leave.” He explained. But you still wanted to learn more. “I’m part of the Avengers, have you heard of them?” You asked.

“Yes, your group is extremely well known.”

“I would like to create an alliance with you!” You blurted out. It felt right, even though how embarrassed you felt. “You and your group, coexisting with the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

He looked at you with a slightly confused expression, “I... I’ll think about—”

 

 

And then you were awake. Your eyes flew open and you quickly sat up, thrashing in the tub.

“Shh, shh. It’s me, kiddo. (Y/n), it’s me.”

Tony.

You looked at him, breathing hard. The Guardians, Thor, and Bucky were in the room as well. You were thankful that you were still clothed.

“Take a deep breath. What happened?” Tony asked carefully. Even though he had been told by Thor, he wanted to hear it from you.

You explained what you were talking about when Drax interrupted, “An Infinity Stone?” He looked to his fellow Guardians.

“You know of them?” Thor asked, turning to them.

“We encountered one a year and a half ago. The Orb.”

You, Tony, and Thor’s eyes widened simultaneously.

“What’s that?” Bucky asked. He was quickly briefed about it.

“Where is it now?” Thor said.

“With the Nova Empire. They’re guarding it day and night.” Rocket said, crossing his arms.

Thor clenched his jaw, then nodded, considering it a good place to be.

“Go on.” Tony said. You continued with your story, including your dream.

“... the neurosurgeon, Doctor Stephen Strange— who went missing after having a car accident —was in a place called the ‘Mirror Dimension’?” Tony asked, stunned.

You nodded.

“And he called himself a ‘Sorcerer’ and was with a group called ‘Masters of the Mystic Arts?”

You nodded again. “And he said that he draws his powers from dimensions, just like I used to do! Could my mom or dad have been a part of that?” You asked.

“Your mom, no. We were very close, she would have told me something important like that. Your dad, I don’t think so. I knew him a little bit; he was nice, but like I said, he left. I tried finding him when I had more equipment, but couldn’t find him.”

“Could he have disappeared there?” You suggested with a shrug of your shoulders.

Tony shook his head, “He really wasn’t a believer of magical things.”

You nodded.

“You asked for an alliance, why?” Thor stepped closer to you.

You shrugged, “It slipped out of me, but it felt right. He seemed to be really strong,” you thought about his glowing green necklace, “it wouldn’t hurt to have him or his friends help us out. You’ve said that there’s a lot of bad in the world—” you looked to the Guardians, “and now we know the universe is bigger than we thought, so I guess new... help? Maybe?” You ended meekly.

“It’s a good idea,” Bucky said, “if he has powers that we’ve never seen before, he could be a really good asset to us.”

You smiled. You looked at Tony and said, “Can I get out of the tub now?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Fist pumps the air and pops a wheelie on my bike, shouting "THE DOCTOR HAS ARRRIIIIIVED!!"* *hits a mailbox and falls over* anyways. So... the Time Stone... remember when you had that? #TBT 
> 
> And thank you everyone do much for the kudos and kind comments. <3 <3 
> 
> P.S I'll be naming my chapters, and the previous ones, so open up that 'chapter index button and take a looksie, if you want*


	43. Findings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh! It's Tom's birthday, so for that special reason, double post today!!

 

You were dried up and were sitting in the common area in a different set of clothing, this one given to you by Gamora: a sleeveless, yellow shirt with a matching color pants, a long, black bar code on the left thigh. You turned to Tony, who was tapping away on his laptop, searching for anything Doctor Strange had mentioned.

“How long until we get to Earth?” You asked. Just as Peter was about to respond, Jarvis answered, “Approximately two and a half weeks.”

“Thank you.” You chuckled, looking at Peter’s upset face. You looked down at your notebook, tapping the pen on the lined pages. You wrote ‘Infinity Stones’ then circled it. Around that you wrote each name of the Infinity Stones, and connected them to the center. Above the the words Space Gem you wrote ‘Asgard’, above the Power Stone you wrote ‘Nova Empire’.

You looked up to Thor, “You said that you had encountered the Reality Gem. Where’d you put it?”

“I gave it to someone who would make sure he wouldn’t lose it. He takes great pride in his collection of oddities.” He said, answering you vaguely.

Peter scoffed, “Sounds like someone we’ve met before.”

Gamora rolled her eyes.

Nobody realized that the man who Peter and Thor mentioned were the same exact man, and nobody pried to investigate, finding that some of the Stone’s locations should remained hidden.

You shrugged and wrote ‘Collector?’. Then over the Time Gem you wrote ‘Possibly in Dark Realm???’. You left the Soul Gem, and the Mind Gem blank since their whereabouts were unknown. Your handwriting was somewhat sloppy, letters combined with others at a slant; but at least it was legible.

“Was this the guy?” Tony said, getting up and bringing his laptop, setting it in front of you.

“Jarvis, can you project this onto the wall?” Tony asked.

“Please.” You added.

Tony rolled his eyes and gave you a funny look, “Please?”

Jarvis chuckled, “Of course, sir.” The image Doctor Strange was wearing teal scrubs and latex gloves, operating on a person was thrown onto the wall so everyone could see. Another picture showed him in a lavish apartment with floor to ceiling windows, this time he was wearing a suit and tie, holding a half empty champagne glass.

You nodded confirming, “Yeah, I wondered what happened.”

Tony leaned over your shoulder and clicked a link.

The headline read ‘WORLD FAMOUS DOCTOR STEPHEN STRANGE HOSPITALIZED FROM CAR CRASH’.

You scrolled down to see pictures of him badly bandaged up, especially his hands, which were in braces. You read a little bit of the article, finding that people used the word ‘arrogant’ to describe him.

‘He won’t be able to continue being a neurosurgeon with the future state of his hands, I’m afraid.’ A Doctor Evans was quoted saying.

Ah, so he left the medical field... and then what? Only Strange could answer you.

“You and him sound alike,” you joked to your uncle, “and the two of you never met?”

Tony shook his head, “Not in person until you were put in the hospital. Me and him did go to a few ceremonies for the bright minds of the twenty-first century, important people, stuff like that.”

You nodded, “Then maybe you can contact him of something, flesh out that alliance more, get to know what he was talking about.”

“You know who he looks like?” Thor chuckled, turning to you and your uncle with a small smile.

You looked up at Tony, who smiled and explained, “He looks like an actor who plays Sherlock Holmes. What was his name? Benedict Cabbagepatch or something like that.”

You mouthed an ‘oh’ as clicked out of the link and clicked a different one. One that had mentioned you.

“Uh... I don’t think...” Tony hesitantly reached out to take the laptop from you, but you swatted his hand away.

‘(Y/N) STARK IN CRITICAL CONDITION, HOSPITALIZED’.

Followed by a photo of a hollow looking Tony sitting in the waiting room wearing his Iron Man suit.

“That was a few hours after they took you away.” Tony said in a quiet voice. You scrolled down and read some more, the person who had written the article didn’t know why you were there, but a somewhat blurry picture of you lying unconscious on a gurney was posted. Your right arm was so blue it was almost black, and it was bent in such a way that gave you chills and churned your stomach sickeningly.

“Who posted that?!” Tony shouted, leaning over you to see if the article credited the person who had taken the picture. It did not.

You were suddenly very self conscious about your arm, the way your hand was just sitting on your lap. Your eyes were stuck on the image of your face; you were covered in blood, the crimson fluid dripping down your neck. You could see that it was also matted in your once long hair.

“What article is this?” Tony asked.

“Washington Post.” Peter said, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably.

It was a short article, not too much revealed except that you were in a coma and some large words and explaining a few things that ailed you. Concussions, broken jaw— you brushed your finger against the scar and dimple that was on the left side of your jaw, a few inches from your lips. At the bottom of the story, there was a video that showed you helping with the Avengers.

You didn’t bother watching it. Feeling extremely self conscious as if everyone’s eyes were on you— even though a few weren’t even looking at you out of sadness — you got out of your chair and picked up your notebook and pen. “I’m just gonna...” you sighed, trying to think of any excuse to get you to your room. “... try to think of any theories.” And with that you left the others, desperately needing an area to breath and come undone. You finally reached your room and you entered it and closed the door.

You let out a nervous sigh.

You hadn’t taken your coma as seriously as you should have, and seeing Tony’s face so horribly blank scared you. But what scared you more was you yourself. You ran your hand along your arm, trying to tell yourself that you were fine now, that you had an arm, but your fast paced heart and your upset stomach were telling you otherwise.

 _I wish I had a mirror_ , you thought, pressing your palms to your face and letting out a slow and deep breath, trying to calm yourself. You sat on your bed and closed your eyes, gently shushing yourself in your head all the while you stroked your cheeks with your hands. You laid down on your pillow and looked up at the ceiling, thinking that you might have found the source of your anxiety and panic; Loki.

Thor said he was brainwashed, but wasn’t it still his hands that had done it to you? You felt a part of yourself disagree, but you simply brushed it aside. If Tony or Bucky had done something similar, wouldn’t— _shouldn’t_ you fear them? But...

You angrily threw your notebook across the room, unable to come up with an answer to a question you had asked yourself. Loki’s hands, the hands you craved so much, were stained with your blood, and possibly the blood from others. You remembered that footage Tony had shown you when you first woke up; throwing those daggers and stabbing people with ease, like he had done this all his life. But... in the video he was killing the bad guys, he was helping you... there was a knock at the door and you looked up.

“(Y/n)? Hey, it’s me. Do you... wanna talk?” It was Tony.

You made a sound that resembled a ‘yes’ and Tony entered then closed the door.

“What’s going through your head?” He prodded gently, sitting on your bed and facing you.

“I’m even more confused and messed up than I thought.” You said, examining your metal fingertips so you wouldn’t have to look at him.

“You’re _not_ messed up. You’re just trying to get through life, and bad things happen in life.”

“But this is... outrageous. Losing an arm because... because someone you had loved did it to you?”

Tony sighed and rubbed your leg.

“I’m not perfect anymore.”

“Listen to me. You are perfect.” Tony said sternly, and you looked up at him, “To me and anyone else in the world, and if they don’t see it, well, they can go to Hell.”

You gave a small smile.

“I mean it. You’re a good person, (Y/n). You’re smart and you’ve helped people and put up with me your entire life.”

You nodded, skeptical.

“And... Loki did that to me?”

Tony nodded sadly. You swallowed, “Has he done that to anyone else?”

“Not that we know of, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t. We found a lot of people dead on Asgard, and on Earth.”

Your stomach churned sickly at the thought of people mangled and broken like you had been. Limbs frozen just like yours

“We know for a fact that he killed his real father, the King of Jötunheim before he came to Earth. On Asgard there’s this thing called the Bifrost, like a huge teleporter thingy. When you keep it on a spot for too long, it’s power starts to destroy the planet. He did that with Jötunheim, but didn’t destroy the planet completely. Thor intervened in time. He doesn’t know how many died.”

You felt a cold knot in your heart. Loki could killed more than two or three thousand people in the time of almost five years.

That’s like six hundred people a year.

You blinked. “I just did math really fast in my head.” You said, surprised.

Tony smiled, “Like I said, you’re smart.”

“Then why can’t I sort out my feelings?”

“You will. You just need some time. That’s why I gave you this.” He tapped your notebook.

You nodded and began slowly, “I see why you want to keep him away from me.”

Tony didn’t smile, even though you were beginning to see his side of things.

“But I still... care for him. I still like him. A lot.”

Tony nodded, tapping his foot lightly on the floor. “Do you want to like him?” Tony didn’t care about your answer if it was yes, he would still keep you away from Loki.

“I don’t know.” You replied honestly. You had connected with Loki deeply and so intently that you wanted to sleep with him; and you didn’t know _anything_ personal about him. And you didn’t feel like you were the type of person to sleep around with anybody.

But... you felt... somewhat unbalanced, saying that you didn’t care for him.

Tony decided to change the subject, “I’m sorry I overreacted with you thinking about training and going on missions. You can do them, if you want.”

You sat up, your eyebrows raised, “Really?” Was he serious?

“Yeah. I’ll try to make you happy with that.”

You hugged him. You wanted to try to ask him if he could get along with Loki, saying that that would make you happy, but you decided not to push so soon. “I’m sorry that I yelled at you the other day. You don’t make me miserable.”

“It’s alright. I make people do that.” He chuckled, “But anyways, do you want to start training now? I’m sure Bucky isn’t up to much.” He stood, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Thank you.”

And soon after, you found Bucky. Like Tony had thought, he wasn’t busy. You asked your request to him and Bucky happily said yes. The three of you then went to Peter and asked if there was a place to train. He said that they can work on the deck where the ramp to where the exit of the ship was. Bucky nodded, creating out a large space by moving the crates. The three of you nodded. It was perfect.

And then everyday for the next week for five hours a day you and Bucky were in the lowest part of the ship, practicing. Bucky noted that you were semi-decent at fighting. Muscle memory, he explained. The first few days you had left training feeling like jelly, collapsing at the top of the ladder in the common room, panting. You had slept soundly those nights, not dreaming of or meeting with Loki.

You decided that it was either your first session with the prince was enough to stop your nightmares, or your body and mind were just too exhausted to conjure up nightmares.

Bucky kept you on your toes, and you didn’t have much else to do, and fighting was a great way to keep yourself distracted. At the beginning of each lesson with him, the two of you would do meditate, then do stretches for half an hour, then he would tie your metal arm behind your back and work on strengthening your left arm.

“But why?” You had asked on the first day.

“Super-strength will make you uneven. I’m not saying that your left arm will match your right arm in strength, but if you rely on the strength too much, you’ll be weak when you’re actually restrained. Trust me, it’s not a good thing to feel.” He explained, “You won’t be as strong as me, or as fast as me because of the serum, but I know you can get stronger than you are now.” He said, finished tying your wrist to your waist. You nodded.

It was hell. Try doing push-up with one arm. Bucky encouraged you, kept you going, but didn’t overwork you. He took breaks when you needed them and stopped when you couldn’t go on. He worked on your punches and your kicks, but like he had said, you couldn’t beat him. You came back with bruises in various places, one of which was on your collarbone and looked somewhat like a hickey (you ducked a few seconds too late, but luckily Bucky pulled his blow just enough so your bone wouldn’t be broken), which caused Drax to wonder out loud if fighting was the only thing you and Bucky were doing downstairs.

“Trust me, fighting is the only thing the two of us are doing down there.” Bucky said, pulling his hair into a messy ponytail.

Drax then continued to list signs of intercourse out loud as well: panting, bruises, soreness, et cetera, which made your face go red and cover your eyes, asking him to stop.

“Begging is one!” He shouted, pointing at you.

You wanted to die.

“Moaning!” He added, listening to you. You rested your forehead on the table and covered your ears, earning snickers from Peter, Rocket, and Groot.

Loki listened from down the hall, cracking his knuckles and pacing.

You and Bucky...

He gritted his teeth. He could just see it now. You were denying profusely anything was happening, but how did he know that anything wasn’t going to happen in the future? Men had agendas, just like anyone else. Loki knew that if he were training with you he would definitely make things go further with your consent.

 _And why shouldn’t she try to make things happen between her and that ‘Bucky’?_ Loki thought to himself. He scoffed and leaned against the wall.

You definitely had a type; dark-haired, brainwashed men who had fallen from grace. Loki cursed at himself and his stupid morals; he should have taken you to bed like you had asked him to, and now his denial was your cue to leave. He walked to the bars and trying— and failing, to catch a glimpse of you in the common area. He growled and sat on his cot, his hands balled into tight fists.

He should have claimed you years ago, why hadn’t he?

 _Love_ , he thought bitterly. You and Loki had been friends and put trust in each other, and that’s what had stopped him. Loki stood and went back to the bars, grabbing onto them again as his hands slowly turned blue. He didn’t allow himself to change into his Jötun form completely as he tried freezing the bars and shook them, but they didn’t budge. This prison caused him to lose his prize, and it succeeded.

He shook the bars angrily and there was a sudden wave a heat coursed through the metal and he backed away, then looked down at his hands. Of course, Bucky had one more thing going for him: _he_ wasn’t a monster.

 _“They’re beautiful.”_ You had said about his hands, about being a Jötun, when what felt like a lifetime ago. You were sincere, but now Loki was taking that as mockery. A little voice spoke up in his head, the conscience you and his mother had created, _But she would never hurt you, she loves you_. Loki scoffed, listening to the laughter coming from down the hall.

You never loved him, he said, creating lies and attempting to convince himself. He should have never let himself love someone, a monster like him doesn’t deserve love, let alone give love. And with that thought, he flicked the off switch in his heart.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, am I right?
> 
>  
> 
> And thank you all so, SO much for 800 kudos! It really means so much to me! <3 <3 <3 And if you want to follow me on twitter, my user name is clevachloe and there's a link in my bio coming back to my acc here on ao3!


	44. ’Tis Better To Be Vile, Than Vile Esteemed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes, double post for Tom's birthday! And yes, the title is the name of a sonnet by Shakespeare (because it fits Loki like a glove) 
> 
> Enjoy!

 

Tony had finally contacted Doctor Stephen Strange a few days later and the three of you had a meeting, along with Thor, Bucky, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, discussing things about a possible alliance with them. Strange gave another vague answer, then added with some more vibrancy to you, “You said you had lost your memories.”

You nodded, looking at the projection of his face on the wall.

“I think I could help with that.”

You stood up excitedly.

“Really?” Bucky asked.

“Maybe.” He held his hand up to stop you, “Big maybe. I’ve never tried that before.”

“What would this method be? How safe is it?” Tony asked, crossing his arms and looking at Strange wearily.

He reached for his glowing green necklace within a clear, oval pendant, holding it up. “This is the Eye of Agamotto. This stone in here can let me travel through time, and age things, as well as make them young again. So maybe if I—”

“Turn the age back on her hippocampus—”

“or go into the Astral Plane and fix her memories from there, I can bring them back. I’ve never done it before, but I’ll practice.” Doctor Strange said, gazing at his necklace before letting it drop again.

“How were we not friends?” Tony smiled.

“Money never made us cross each others’ paths.” Strange laughed, and Tony joined in, “True.”

You watched the two of them laughing, excited to get home and get your memories, partially excited to finish this call and get into the shower.

“So,” you said, clapping your hands and putting a smile on your face, “think about the alliance. We’ll be back to Earth soonish.”

Doctor Strange nodded, “Alright. Stark.”

“Strange.” You and Tony said in unison, which made you chuckle, then he ended the call. You felt satisfied. Doctor Strange meeting the Avengers was somewhat confirmed, and if it was, you’d be getting your memories back.

“Excited?” Tony asked, watching the smile creep up on your face.

“Yeah. I’m going to remember, and things are going to make sense.” You said gleefully, “I’m going to remember you, and Thor, and everybody and all the adventures I’ve had.”

Tony grinned, watching your expression light up. You looked at your uncle, sitting on the bed and chuckling at your excitement. You smiled, he was great and you loved him; and you gave him a tight hug.

 

 

You were in that same bedroom again. Green silk sheets, door on the right wall, and window behind and above the bed. You sat up, wondering the significance of the room to keep reappearing there.

Loki entered through the door and cast his eyes over you, then continued to cross the room and pick up a book and start reading it. You sat up and stretched your arms above your head, then winced, lowering them and touching the bruise on your left side. You suddenly remembered (you loved remembering) what you wanted to tell him. There was a solid sixty-percent chance that you were going to get your memories back!

Just as you opened your mouth, he quickly interrupted.

“Is he working you hard?” He half asked, half stated.

“Who? Bucky?” You nodded, “Yeah.” You looked over to see him gripping the book tensely. You stood, concerned, “What’s up?”

Your great news would have to wait.

He put his book aside calmly and ignored the question, “Do you like his training?” He gritted through his teeth.

You put your guard up slightly, reading his body language and answered honestly, “It’s good. I like the structure it’s put in my life. It’s a set time every day and I know I can count on it.”

He nodded, clenching his jaw. “Why do you ask?”

“Curious.”

You sighed, “Loki, are you okay?”

“Am I okay?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. “I should be asking you that, seeing as you’re the one who complains of sore limbs and an aching body.” He said, walking towards you; each of his steps forwards, you took one back.

You were confused, why was he mad?

“Answer me honestly; how good is he?” He demanded, his eyes dark.

You stopped when you hit the wall. “What? Do you meaning fighting?” You asked. You had never seen him mad before, and you found it terrifying.

He laughed; a hollow, fake laugh. “I forgot how stupid you Midgardians are.”

You frowned. He was a few feet away from you, and you were prepared to fight. “Back off, Loki.” You said, placing a hand on his chest to push him away.

He didn’t budge. “You can’t beat me.” He said, watching your stance change.

“I’ll try my best.” You said with determination.

“I would like to see you try.” He growled. You threw a fist which he easily dodged and he grabbed your arms and spun you around, pinning you against the wall on your chest.

“Tell me,” he said in your ear, “do you beg for him?”

Then you understood what this outburst was all about. “I am not sleeping with Bucky.” You said firmly, struggling to get out of Loki’s grasp.

He turned you so you would be facing him, “Oh, I doubt any actual _sleeping_ is going on.”

You tried to shove him away and said angrily, “We’re just friends! Why are you so upset about this?”

“You know why.” He said darkly, lifting you up and placing himself between your legs, holding you against the wall with his torso. The metal and leather of his armor dug into your thighs as he grabbed your wrists and held them together.

“Stop!” You shouted as he grabbed your hair, bringing your face close to his.

“I never thought you would be like this; leaving a lover just to find another quickly—”

“You and I were never lovers. You and I kissed, and that was it. I can’t believe I actually wanted to sleep with you, with the way you’re acting.” You hissed.

“You’ll sleep with anyone who has a tragic backstory, won’t you?”

With each word you keep feel your rage bubbling up inside you.

“Find a lost soul and help redeem him. I know there’s more than enough men in the galaxy to satisfy you, you harlot.”

“Excuse me?” You said through gritted teeth. Even though you knew limited about your life, you felt you were certainly not that. “I’m sure your kind has a word for it. ‘Whore’, ‘tramp’. You’ll get sex wherever you can, can’t you?”

You glared at him. You were absolutely on fire with these insults, degrading you. Your hands shook angrily in his clutches as you looked at him with murderous eyes.

 _Hit him somewhere hard, where it’ll hurt_ , a voice in your head said. “At least I won’t throw a temper tantrum because daddy won’t let be have the throne.” You snapped, “At least I won’t try to kill people because ‘daddy loved Thor more than me’. At least I’m not a Frost Giant.”

At that, his glare darkened at you.

“Now let me go, Laufeyson. Before I make Tony toss you out for Thanos’s bounty.” You said in a low voice.

He stared at you for a moment before releasing your hands and hair, letting you drop to the ground. You glared up at him, bracing your hands on your knees and stood up. You looked at him with daggers and swept your hand out to slap him hard, causing him to stagger.

“You’re an asshole brat. I can’t believe I was ever friends with a person like you.”

He glared at you.

And then you forced yourself to wake up.

You sat up in bed, breathing hard. You couldn’t believe what he had said to you. You jumped out of bed and marched down the hall; everyone else was sleeping. You turned and went to Loki’s cell, standing in front of it and glaring at his silhouette on the bed. “You. Asshole.” You said through gritted teeth.

“I believe you already called me that.” He said nonchalantly, which made your temper flare even hotter.

“Who do you think you are to call me those things?” You growled, balling your hands into tight fists.

He sat up, and even in the darkness you could still see his fiery glare, “I know more about you than you do at the moment, _tigress_ ,” he mocked.

That nickname caused a feeling of shock and anger, as if someone had shot you.

“Wheraes you know nothing about either of us. So I can call you whatever I want, whore.”

Bang.

“I’m not a whore.” You growled. You were ready to rip his throat out.

“Just admit it: you love being pinned by him on the floor, being taken by him so rough.”

Bang.

That was it. You let out an angry cry and grabbed onto the barred door and ripped it from the wall, tossing it aside. You threw your fist to punch him, landing on his chest, hard enough to send him flying into the wall and making it dent and crack.

He looked at you with a mix of disbelief and anger, which only riled you up more. He pulled himself from the wall and you threw another punch which he caught and flipped you over, slamming hard onto the floor and pinning your metal arm down.

“Just admit it,” he said in a low voice, “you and Bucky are fuc—” you kicked him in the stomach and knocked him away.

“No!” You shouted as he started to get to his feet again. There was nothing going on between you and Bucky! You didn’t have to admit to anything. Just as you about to kick him, a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around you, immobilizing you, and pulling you away from him.

“Enough!” Thor shouted, holding you tighter as you struggled. You glared at Loki as he did the same for you. All you could feel was hatred. You wanted to punch his teeth out and sew his lips shut then throw him to the farthest reaches of space so he could die there.

“What happened?” Tony asked, entering your vision.

“Loki...” You panted, still trying to get out of Thor’s arms.

“What about Loki?” He asked, but you kept your glare on the prince in green and gold. You could feel every fiber in your being light on fire in hostility.

“Hey, hey,” Tony snapped his fingers in front of your face, trying to gain your attention, “what about Loki?”

“What happened to my prison door?!” Rocket screeched from behind you.

“He... he...” _Just say it!_ You thought angrily to yourself.

“Why are you smiling?” You sneered, trying and failing to get Thor to let you go. You wanted to slap that smile off of his stupid face.

“I’m just remembering how feisty you would get when Rogers would make you mad.” He chuckled. You pulled against Thor’s iron grip on you.

“You shut up!” Tony snapped, pointing a finger at Loki.

Your uncle sighed and said calmly, “Jarvis, tell me what happened.”

“(Y/n) approached the cell and called him an asshole, to which he claimed she had already called him that. (Y/n) then who do you think you are to say those things, and he told her that he knew much more about her than she did, therefore he could call her whatever he wants, and called her— forgive me sir —a whore. I searched through any previous conversations, no evidence shows of him calling her that—”

“He called me that when we were dreaming together!” You interrupted.

Tony chuckled, running his hands over his face.

“Shall I go on?” Jarvis asked.

“No, no, that’s fine.” Tony said, pinching the bridge of his nose and laughing.

“Am I missing something that’s funny?” Peter asked honestly.

Tony laughed and looked at Loki, “You’re done, buddy. You are... you’re just gone. The second we get to Earth, you’re dead.” Tony said happily. Loki stood his ground, not saying a word and balling his fists.

You started to feel Thor’s grip loosen on you, “Tony—”

“No, Thor.” Tony said with a smile, “I’m— I’m on my last straw with Loki, and this was it. Actually, I was on my last straw with him when I found out that he and (Y/n) were in love.” His last words sent a bad vibe through you. Loki was someone nobody should love. “So _you_ ,” he turned to the prisoner, “owe me straws!”

Nobody laughed.

Tony chuckled and wrapped his arm around Loki’s shoulders, who stayed there, stiff and unmoving except for his eyes.

“This how things will play out for you,” your uncle poked his chest as if they were friends for years, “you will remain in this cell while Rocket fixes it; you’ll be wearing those magical handcuffs and muzzle Thor provided us with.”

Thor let out a tense huff, holding you tighter as Tony continued. “Once we get home, you’ll write down on a piece of paper your favorite meal. It can be anything. That’ll be your last meal, I may poison it, I may not, I’ll flip a coin. And then I’ll make your death as slow as possible.”

Thor shoved you to the ground and you hit it hard, your head connecting with the metal and instantly started throbbing as you let out a groan.

Thor ran at Tony and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him a few feet into the air, “You seem to forget who Loki and his brother are.” Thor stated, holding out his other arm and Mjölnir flew right into his palm, and the air was electrified with power unknown to everyone.

“So let me remind you: we are the Princes of Asgard. I am heir to one throne and Loki is heir to two. We have power and technology far more advanced than any Midgardian. He known as the God of Mischief and I as the God of Thunder. Do you know what Midgardians are known as?”

Thor brought Tony down close to his face.

 

“ _Mortals_.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, bamf Thor here, watch out


	45. Nobody Likes Things That They Don't Understand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sick right now, but here you go, lovelies!!

 

 

“Are you saying you’ll kill me?” Tony retorted, narrowing his eyes.

“On Midgard or elsewhere, he is under my protection and I under his. We are brothers to the very end, even if he pretends to not care... I know he does. You will not harm him or you will face my wrath.”

“Then take him.” Tony spat, “I’m done seeing his face. I am sick of him hurting (Y/n). Just take him and _leave_.”

Groot held his hand out to you and you took it, standing up. Your eyes landed on Bucky’s. He came over to you and asked if you were okay. You nodded and glanced at Loki, finding him to be looking at you as well, and you turned your back to him.

“And it’s their fault, too!” You said, pointing to the guardians. Tony and Thor turned as Groot let out a whimper and looked sad. “Peter, Drax, and Rocket’s fault!”

Gamora smirked at Peter.

“What the hell did we do?!” Rocket countered, tossing the metal pipe in his hands and walking up to you.

You put your hands on your hips, “Drax was the first one who started this whole thing! Just because I have a bruise on my neck or _near_ my neck does not mean I’m having sex with someone!”

“Hav... you’re having...?” Tony faltered, cringing.

“I am not!” You shouted.

“Those _idiots_ think Bucky and her are sleeping together because coming back from training she had a bruise on her neck.” Gamora said, hitting Peter on the arm, who let out a yelp of pain. “Idiots.” She mumbled, rolling her eyes.

“See?” You pulled down the collar of your shirt to show your uncle and Thor the bruise. They nodded. “And this... _idiot_ ,” you pointed to Loki, “must have overheard them and believed it. That’s why he called me a—”

“Riiight. This is making sense, now.” Tony said, crossing his arms and sighing.

You replayed what you said in your head and it sounded like... you were defending Loki? You glared at the prince, “I’m still going to need an apology.”

Loki crossed his arms, staring at you defiantly.

“Loki, you were wrong. You owe her an apology.” Thor said quietly. He clenched his jaw and remained silent, his eyes locked onto yours. Thor whispered something in his brothers’ ear, who continued to be silent and stoic.

But then he smirked, cleared his throat and did a mock bow to you, twirling his arm and saying, “You’re welcome.” Then stood up straight again.

“Excuse me? That was not an apology.” You said through gritted teeth.

“Well, you owe me a thank you.” He said with a chuckle. While Loki found this humorous, Tony did not.

“For what?!” You asked, spreading your arms.

Loki pulled in a breath, glancing from your uncle, then to everyone else and back to you, “They didn’t tell you, did they? Ironic how Tony doesn’t want me in the same realm as you, but will turn to me for help in dire situations involving you.”

Bucky rushed to your uncle to hold him back from throwing a punch.

“What are you talking about?”

“See, when you had collapsed while talking with Thor,” he began slowly, as if talking to a child, “you had a fever. They rushed you to the bathroom and put you in a tub of warm water, which wasn’t what you needed at the moment.” He looked at the Guardians.

“Nobody here likes cold showers...” Peter explained shyly.

Loki turned his attention back on you, “You were only getting hotter and hotter, and at that rate you would have died within the hour, so desperate times calls for desperate measures. Tony called upon me, and I cooled the water. You’re. Welcome.” He ended with that stupid, asshole grin of his.

“Fine! Be that way!” You burst, storming passed the others and going back to your room, slamming your door behind you as you entered.

Bucky slowly let go when Tony said that he was calm. Your uncle looked around then sighed to the Guardians, “You guys can go. Bucky, you too, though I’ll probably swing by your room right after this.”

Bucky nodded, then hesitantly departed as well.

Tony turned to Loki and said, “You are a piece of work, you know that?”

Loki didn’t speak.

Tony looked at the blonde man, “When we get home, just take him. I don’t care where he goes or what he does, I do not want him in Avengers H.Q. anymore.” Thor simply kept his gaze on his brother, trying to read him. Tony sighed with a shake of his head and left to find you.

Thor put his hand on his brothers shoulder, who roughly shoved his hand off and whispered menacingly, “Leave me alone.” And sat on his bed, glaring at the ceiling.

“Why are you pushing her away?” Thor pressed. “You were intentionally cruel to her.”

“She very obviously doesn’t want me anymore. Ever since she set eyes on that ‘Bucky’.” Loki snarled, “I’m as much an oaf as you are for trusting her.” That stung Thor slightly. “For trusting any of those Midgardians. Consider it a farewell gift for making me waste my time with her.” He crossed his legs and tucked his hands behind his head.

“Then why dance with you? Why hold you like she had?”

Loki growled, “Though I am the God of Mischief, I must remember there are other liars in the universe. Now leave me be, Thor.”

Thor looked down at his brother. He couldn’t see how much Loki was hurting, but he could imagine the intensity of it. Thor left without another word as Rocket and Groot came back with an armful of tools and picked up the cell door and started repairing it. Hor entered his room with a sigh, wondering why his brother was acting to this extreme.

He placed Mjölnir on his nightstand then crawled into bed, looking up at the ceiling. He knew Loki loved you. He just knew it. The two of you just needed to talk, but he knew that would be hard; you and Loki were as stubborn as wild horses. He would not let his brother go down a dark path due to a silly misunderstanding. You had helped Loki, you helped him care and love, and Thor found that amazing. Maybe once you had gotten your memories back, you could try again.

Thor turned onto his side, gazing at the small symbols on his magical hammer. He would have to stall from taking removing his brother from the headquarters until that Doctor Strange, hopefully, returned your memories.

 

 

Loki ignored the sounds of Rocket and Groot fixing the cell door. He was done. He tried being good; and he ended up in a cell. He was bad, he ended up in a cell. It seemed like no matter what he did, he ended up in the same place. He wondered how different he and the so-called ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ were for him to be in a cell, and them not. He smirked; if he was going to end up in prison, why not have some fun along the way?

 

 

You paced around your room angrily. Why was he so arrogant? You wondered how the hell you saw anything attractive in him. Now _and_  then. He was rude and childish, and seemed to cause you nothing but problems and pain.

You let out a sigh and sat on the floor, crossing your legs in the center of your room and resting your palms on your knees. You and Bucky always meditated for a few minutes before and after your training. You rolled your shoulders and let out a huff, trying to bring your thoughts to something more pleasant, but you didn’t seem to find any. You resolved to trying to make your mind blank. Taking another deep breath and letting it out slowly, you pushed away the sounds of construction and the echoing and creaking of the ship. You meditated for a few minutes until you decided you were much less angrier, then stood and took another deep breath. You were still angry at Loki— oh, what he said was absolutely unforgivable, memories or not. There was a knock at the door and you sighed, preferring to be in your own company.

“Who is it?” You asked, stretching down to your toes.

“It’s Thor.”

You rolled your eyes, stretching one arm up to the air. “I would like to be alone, thank you.” You said firmly, holding that pose before switching arms.

“I am apologizing for Loki’s actions. He doesn’t know what he speaks of, and he should not have lashed out that way.”

“Sure as hell he shouldn’t have.” You grumbled, replaying his rude words in your head, which were accompanied with a cold sting in your chest.

“When Loki is upset or hurt he can jump to conclusions.” You stood up and put your hands on your hips, “Excuse me? When did _I_ hurt him?”

Thor didn’t answer.

“Thought so.” You snapped, “You know, he called me a whore and you’re still there defending him. Tony told me when I first woke up that you, him, and Bucky would protect me from Loki.”

“You misunderstand what he means to—”

“ _I_ misunderstand?” You stomped over to the door and yanked it open, glaring up at him, “You misunderstand, Thor. _I_ am the victim. Loki’s victim. Over, and over, and over again. History is repeating itself and I want it to _stop_. Tony was right about him, and I admit I was stupid for not listening to my uncle, and look at the mess I’m in.”

He sighed heavily and said quietly, “I am just trying to make things right. I care for you very dearly, (Y/n), I simply want you to be happy and safe.”

You looked down to the floor for a moment then looked back up to him, “I will be those things once Loki is away from me. Goodbye and goodnight.” You closed the door and locked it, going back to the center of your room and resuming your stretches.

 

 

Days passed and the numbers ticked down until how long it would be until you back on Earth. Back home. When Gamora announced that they had just passed the planet Neptune, she was able to give a definitive time for when the ship would land. After that announcement, Tony face-timed the rest of the Avengers, letting them know the great news. A few, you noticed, weren’t there: Clint, Pepper, Sam, and Natasha. Bruce had explained that they were away on a mission, except Pepper, who was busy working at Stark Industries.

 

 

It was the day.

 _The_ day.

You were banging on Tony’s room door excitedly, a smile on your face and waiting for an answer.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” He yawned on the other side of the door, “Don’t break it down.”

You giggled and stopped knocking as your uncle opened the door, a sleepy look on his face and his hair ruffled in all directions.

“Today’s—!” He pressed a finger to your lips, silencing you, “Nightlight,” he said gently with a smile, “I know what today is. You keep reminding me every three hours about how much longer it is. I would’ve thought you wanted some beauty sleep, or some nonsense like that. I know I need some.” He said, leaning against the door frame and pulling his finger back.

“I know you know. But come look at this view!” You pointed down the hall, jumping up and down.

“Okay, okay, just let me get dressed first.” Then he closed the door. You sighed, looking up and down the hall anxiously.

You had watched the planet grow bigger and bigger at a quickening rate, and you wanted Tony to see the view before the ship was too close. The door opened and you turned to face him in his morning clothes and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down the hall and turned left, leading him to the glass window. You heard him gasp behind you as you looked at the blue and green planet with it’s guardian moon. It was cloudy at the top and you smiled at it.

It was home, it was where you lived and fought and had friends, and _memories_.

“It’s beautiful. Not many people get to see it like this, looking at it from space. It’s definitely no Alfheim, but it’s good. Mostly good, actually— it’s forty-five percent good, thirty percent bad, and the rest is a grey area.” He said, gesturing to the planet.

You rolled your eyes with a dramatic sigh, “Very well put, Tony.” You said sarcastically.

He nudged your shoulder, “C’mon, let’s grab some breakfast.”

You nodded and followed him back down his hallway. “You let Doctor Strange know we’re almost home?” You asked.

Tony nodded again, covering his mouth as he yawned, “Yep. Texted him last night along with the address of the headquarters, and let everyone know that he’s gonna be there.”

You rubbed your hands together, “Awesome.” You watched Tony crouch down and open a drawer and pull out a few packaged-wrapped food containers and placing them on the countertop for everyone.

You looked up to the sound of footsteps and saw Thor and Gamora enter the room, talking. The two paused to greet you and your uncle, who waved with a smile as he heated up the food. You crossed your arms and said hello to Gamora and ignored the Asgardian. _It seems like I don’t get along with royalty_ , you thought to yourself, watching the two of them continue their conversations, so etching about Asgard and the Nova Empire, and he was intently listening.

You rolled your eyes and said, “I’m gonna go take a quick shower.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have no idea what's coming next. 
> 
> Seriously.
> 
> Something really unexpected will happen and you will NOT be prepared :)
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and kind comments! <3 <3 <3


	46. Whosoever is Worthy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, ugh, I know. My apologies, but I'm not even sure if you guys are prepared for this.

 

There was a sudden loud creak and the ship dipped to the right, and you were thrown against the wall, tripping to the floor. You pushed yourself up from the floor and staggered out of the bathroom as a siren started to wail. You opened the door and ran down the hall, heading back towards the saloon of the ship.

What was happening? Was the ship under attack?

You moved over when you saw Groot heading your way with Rocket, who was screaming something about the engine as they ran to the back of the ship. You entered the common area where everyone now was standing, including _him_. You locked eyes with his green ones as Tony quickly approached you.

You looked around in confusion, “Tony, what happen—”Just as Tony got six feet away from you, the floor beneath your feet exploded, sending you and everyone flying. You covered your head with your arms as you tumbled through the air, hitting the ceiling hard and falling back down into the ground.

You groaned and looked around and saw the explosion had effectively blown out the wall and the ship was careening around in the sky.

Your protection instincts turned on— where was everyone else?

Someone screamed your name and you looked up to see the ceiling start to dip down and collapse. You heaved yourself up and started to run to where Tony was standing on the other side of the ship, trying to summon his Iron Man suit. With another loud groan of metal, the ceiling hit the floor and there was a loud crack, and the floor gave way with you went down with it. You screamed, sliding down the floor that opened up the earth that was miles and miles below. You tried to grab onto anything; the chairs, rope (which easily snapped) and some other machines that were bolted to the floor, but it was no use.

Your feet suddenly didn’t feel the floor anymore and you were falling through the air, reaching out to grab anything, and then your hand latched onto something. You were gripping onto an extremely thick wire, holding on for your life. You ducked your head as a red and gold piece of metal came flying towards you. The wind whipped your hair around your face as you looked around, trying to find away to get back onto the ship. You watched in horror as the back end of the ship exploded into flames, raining shrapnel everywhere. You felt a firm grip on your calf and you looked down, seeing the leg part of the Iron Man suit attach itself to you, and you instantly understood what Tony was doing. You tried to pull yourself up again, but the cable started to snap and peel apart.

You were dangling there helplessly, getting tossed around in the air as the ship was spinning faster and faster. You reached your hand further up to pull yourself, but he wire started to strip away from itself, unwinding. You let out a sob, looking down at the blue and green blur that was getting closer at a horrifying rate. You closed your eyes and clung onto that wire for the remainder of what would be your short life, trying to block out the sounds of the roaring wind in your ears and the sound of the explosions around you and waited.

That was the only thing to do.

Wait and cry, and that’s what you did.

You ignored the sounds of your name being shouted out, it was only the sound of the blood rushing to your head, or the sound of metal crunching together as it hurtled to the ground, along with you. There was your name, again, and again and you opened your eyes and saw him.

Loki.

He had a thick red wire tied around his ankle, holding him to the ship. He stretched his arm out to you and said, “(Y/n)! Take my hand!” You stared at him in anger, looking from his hand to his face. The ship shuddered and you slipped down on your wire, letting out a scream.

Were you really going to die because of your stubbornness?

“(Y/n), please!” He begged, tears ready to fall down his face, stretching his arm out farther. The ship was now spiraling out of control; hurdling downwards. You swallowed your pride and anger, letting go to grab his hand, slipping your palm into his just as another jolt rocked the ship and you lost your grip on the wire, his hand, and you were falling. You saw the ground, the ship exploding in the sky, the ground, and the ship and the sky again as you fell, every second was you getting closer and closer to your death.

The wind was rushing past your ears and you closed your eyes, anticipating every second until you hit the ground.

Then you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist.

And then they pulled you against a firm chest.

You opened your eyes and saw that it was Loki, and hooked your arms around him and squeezed your eyes shut as you felt his hand snake up to your neck and pressed your face in his neck, setting a felling of safety and protectiveness in you. “(Y/n), I’m so sor—”

 

Tony shoved himself away from Thor and Bucky when they fell and rolled onto the ground, Mjölnir had been knocking out of the prince’s hand during the fall.

“Why didn’t you get _her_?!” Tony screamed and got up, as everyone else was running outside and towards the wreckage, but stopped and watched as the ship crashed against the earth, letting out an all-mighty boom and throwing fire and dirt into the air in a bright green light.

Jarvis automatically turned on the sprinklers in a futile way to help.

From the distance they were at they could still feel the tinge of heat coming from the large flames.

“No, no, no, no, no...” Tony muttered, calling another suit of armor to him and flying over the wreckage. You couldn’t be dead, you couldn’t. Tony would rather have died instead of you. He aimed his arms at the fire and shot water at it, dousing the large flames in a panicked frenzy.

Thor threw out his hand to summon Mjölnir with intent to create a thunderstorm as Bucky and the others ran out to help, while Pepper called the fire department.

Mjölnir never arrived.

Was he not worthy?

 

Tony flew over the wreckage, lifting giant pieces of metal and placing them to the side, looking for his niece. On the inside of his helmet, Jarvis turned on the scanner to look for any signs of life.

“Guys! I... I think I found something...” Bucky’s voice called out.

Tony swiveled around and flew to where Bucky was and helped him lift another large piece of metal and placing it to the side. Everyone else soon came to join in helping. Through his helmet, Tony definitely could see two signs of life. There was one last curved piece of metal that Bucky was straining to move, so Tony grabbed the edge and easily lifted it and put it aside, and you were there.

Tony lowered himself to the ground, staring at the sight.

“Did you find her?” Steve asked, running up, then stopping next to Tony, his eyes were as wide as Bucky’s.

A short few seconds, everyone was behind Tony, staring.

Loki was holding you tightly in one arm, and you were gripping onto him with the same amount of force. Loki had his eyes shut closed, and his other arm was extended, his hand gripped around the hilt of Mjölnir.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sighs and sits on a velvet chair next to a roaring fire, I look at you lovingly* So, dear readers. What do you think? Questions and comments are allowed, and your kudos are much well appreciated. Love you all <3 <3 <3


	47. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dabs while crying because I love Loki so much*

 

Everyone stared at the two of you with the utmost surprised looks on their faces.

“What?” Tony asked himself. He couldn’t comprehend it: Loki? Worthy? He looked over to his comrades, who were just as well in shock. Tony looked to Thor, who was right next to him, and called out to his brother.

 

Everything was suddenly quiet, and you were sure you were dead, then, slowly your hearing came back and you could hear the last few crumbling sounds and singing of metal.

“Loki?”

And that’s when you realized you were alive. You opened your eyes cautiously and saw that you were still in Loki’s embrace, and he was staring at you as well. You heard the thudding of footsteps and turned and saw Tony and Thor running to you.

You then saw that Loki was holding Mjölnir, and you felt like that was really, _really_ important.

You let go of him to meet Tony, but you felt him tighten his grip around your waist. You turned to him, about to ask if he could let you go— “Are you alright?” He asked, his voice shaking.

“Y-yes. What about y—” you were suddenly pulled away from him and Tony pulled you into a crushing hug, and you did the same. He held you at arms length then looked back to Loki, who was now handing Thor his hammer back. “Come on, Strange should be getting here in a few minutes.” Tony said, pulling you across the burned and smoldering lawn and into the large, white building with the letter A on the side.

“Wait, wait.” You said, pulling against Tony and stopping.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, turning to face you.

You blinked a few times, trying to force away the dizziness you were experiencing, slowly going to your knees with Tony’s help.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay. You made it. You always make it.” He cooed softly as you took slow and deep breaths. You pulled your hands away from his and laid down on the ground, facing the sky and seeing the large plume of black smoke coming from what remained of the ship. You groaned and covered your eyes with your hands, feeling a sickening lurch in your stomach. You pressed a hand to your chest as if to slow your heart, feeling you were on the verge of a panic attack.

You were falling, you were falling so fast and so far and for so _long_ , and then you were here. You were alive, somehow, but you shouldn’t be.

You were shaking, gripping onto Tony’s hand tighter with yours, trying to swallow your tears that threatened to fall.

“Just focus on where you are, okay? Feel the ground, focus on the feeling of the grass, the wind.” Tony said, taking off the Iron Man piece that was still attached to your org and tossed it aside, rubbing your shin slowly as you let out a shaky breath. You rolled your shoulders nervously, feeling the cold earth under you. _The same ground that should have killed me_ , you thought, causing a shiver to run through you. The grass you were laying in tickled your neck and cheeks, as if ants were crawling on you, but you couldn’t care.

You could hear in the distance Rocket cursing and screaming and crying, and the thought of that made you smile and chuckle, which in turn made Tony relieved.

“Do you want some water?” He asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. You let out a sigh and removed your hand from your face, carefully sitting up and squinting when the sunlight reflected off of his suit and hit you. “That would be good, thank you.” You said, feeling yourself start to calm down.

“Okay, then let’s get you inside.” He said, helping you stand up. Your legs were still wobbly, but you were able were talk and not collapse. You turned around to face everyone, the Avengers, with worried looks on their faces.

“Do you want to say hello to them now, or once we’re inside?” Tony asked.

“Um...” You looked back to your uncle, then past him to look through the glass doors, eyeing a few pieces of furniture. “Once we get inside, please.” You said. Your uncle nodded and guided you to the building. You ran your hand through your hair, looking at your surroundings, seeing that the trees in the distance didn’t have the pale purple leaves like trees in Alfheim.

With the sound of his clunking metal boots, Tony walked you to the doors and slid them open.

“Welcome home.”

You stepped inside, looking around. Everything was sleek and colored in white, silvers, or black. Chairs, sofas and tables were dotted around this floor and you looked up at the high ceilings, taking in the grandiose space. “Here, sit down.” Tony said, guiding you to the white sofa you had only seen when face-chatting with the Avengers. You gently plopped down on the soft furniture as Tony stepped out of his Iron Man suit, watching the Avengers, Peter, Gamora, and Drax enter the large space.

“Bruce, can you get (Y/n) some water?” Tony said, sitting next to you and gauging your emotions.

“Sure thing.” The man you recognized to be Bruce said, giving you a smile and a small nod before leaving and going to the kitchen.

“Oh, you haven’t been introduced to him.” Tony said, pointing out a man who was standing next to Pepper, “That’s Happy Hogan. He’s the head of security at Stark Industries, also one of my best friends, he’s kind of like your other uncle.”

You smiled at the man, information clicking when you realized it was him Tony was talking about during his argument with Pepper. You stood up on wobbly legs, taking a few steps to him and said, “It’s nice to meet you.” You held your hand out for him to shake, reminding yourself not to squeeze too hard. “It’s nice to see you again.” He said with a smile, taking your hand. He glanced at your arm a few times before letting go with an apologetic smile.

“Hi.” Pepper said, gently stroking your arm.

“Hi.” You said. That mermaid had looked exactly like Pepper, it was scary. You felt a surge of love rise up and you leaned forward to give her a hug, to the both of your surprise.

“How are you, (Y/n)?” She asked, relaxing in your embrace, stroking your hair.

“I’m good. I’ll be better, hopefully, when Strange gets here.” You felt a tap on your shoulder and you let go of Pepper and turned around to see Bruce standing there with the glass of water for you. “Thank you.” You said with a smile, taking the cup from it and drinking.

You watched as Thor discreetly led Loki away, going down the hall where Bruce had gone.

“Yeah, Strange should be getting here any minute.” Tony said, looking at his phone. Just as he finished that sentence, a large trickle of light appeared in the air, as if someone invisible was holding a sparkler. Tony immediately stood and a few others grabbed their guns, watching the bright orange sparkles move in the air in a clockwise direction, growing larger and larger until two men— Doctor Strange and another man stepped through it, appearing in the living room from another location. The two stood there, surveying everyone as the portal behind them fizzed away, the sparks falling uselessly to the ground, and you wondered briefly if that was what your portals looked like.

“Doctor Strange.” Tony said with a grin, walking over and shaking his hand.

“Mr. Stark. It’s an honor to be here. This is another Scorcerer, Wong.” Doctor Strange said, guesting to the bald man on his left, “He’s here to supervise this... procedure.”

Wong nodded, “Hello, Avengers.”

“And Guardians.” Peter said weakly. You chuckled and took another sip, watching Doctor Strange and Wong turn their gaze to the rest of the Avengers and Guardians.

“Hello.” Steve stepped forward, “I’m—” “We know who you are. We know who all of you are. Except you, you, you, you, you, and you.” Strange said, pointing to Happy, Peter, Gamora, Rocket, Drax, and Groot.

His eyes landed on you and you suddenly felt timid, “But you’re the one I’m here for.”

“Uh, y-yes.” You said, stepping forward and setting your glass on the wooden coffee table and approaching him.

“Is there someplace more private to work?” Strange asked.

“Yeah, let’s go upstairs.” Tony said, leading him and you away from the others.

“Wait. What exactly will this Doctor Strange and Wong be doing?” Natasha asked. You turned and looked from her to Strange and his friend.

“(Y/n), can I have that cup you were using?” He asked. You nodded and quickly walked back to the table, got your cup and brought it back to Strange. He mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ and cleared his throat, lifting his arm that held the cup high into the air, holding it there for a moment then letting it drop. You gasped loudly as it shattered on the floor, glass spraying everywhere and taking a few steps back.

“Uh, Steven?” Tony asked, stepping closer to him.

“Let’s imagine that (Y/n)’s brain is this shattered glass.” You looked at him, offended. “Sorry.” He mumbled, then continued, “This is the Eye of Agamotto.” He gestured to the necklace at his chest. He lifted his hands up and made a shape with the two of them, his trembling hands touching each other before sliding away in the air. You looked down at the necklace, feeling its mystery and power drawing you in again, and you realized it had _opened_.

An ancient green light spilled from it, and Strange stretched his arm and fist out to where the cup had shattered, green rings with geometric shapes of magick and power circling his lower arm and wrist. He slowly turned his arm over, opening his fist, and you watched in amazement as the shards of glass slid across the floor, joining together, climbing higher and repairing itself and making the cup whole again. The green symbols around his arm fizzed away as he bent down and picked it up, “That is what I plan to do. Turn back the time, the age of her brain, to it’s state before her accident.”

“And hopefully that will mean her memories will be intact as well.” Wong explained, “and if that doesn’t work, we’ll page through her memories and bring them into her mind now.”

“It’s safe, okay?” Tony said, spreading his arms.

His constant reassurance was making you feel less and less assured. You nervously rubbed your hands together as he beckoned you with his hand, and the four of you went down the hall. He took your hand and kissed you on the forehead, “It’s gonna be okay.” You nodded slowly, registering Doctor Strange’s words again and wondering if any of this was going to be painful. Tony stopped you at an elevator and pressed a button, the doors opened immediately and the four of you stepped into the small space. He pressed another buttons and the door shut riding up into the building.

 

Thor escorted Loki back into his cell, both in a state of shock. Thor's hand hovered over the keypad as he tried to remember the passcode. Right. He pressed the specific numbers and the green light flashed and then the door opened, Loki walked inside with his brother following.

Loki looked around lazily. Been here, done that. He looked back to Mjölnir in Thor’s hands. He was worthy. Loki was _worthy_. And he didn’t believe it. He cleared his throat and extended his arm again, “Let me see that.”

Thor looked from the hammer in his hands to his brother. What if lifting Mjölnir before was only a one time shot? He didn’t want to see Loki upset and dejected again.

With a silent huff and an anxious mind, he passed the glorious weapon to his brother, who held it without fail.

Loki was worthy.

His brother who he had doubted, who had been the puppet of two attempts to take over two different worlds; had manipulated people, toyed with people; and he was worthy. Thor couldn’t be more proud as he watched his younger brother turn Mjölnir in his hands, looking at it closely. Loki looked up at Thor and angrily handed it back. “This is a fake.” He snapped, clenching his fists.

Thor shook his head, confused, “It’s not. You saw me summon it on the ship before it went down.”

Loki shook his head, looking at the ground before laughing and looking back at the blonde man, “Then how am _I_ worthy? After calling (Y/n) a whore and being a conduit for releasing wrath on Asgard and Midgard— how am I worthy?”

Thor swallowed. All of what Loki said was true, and all of that was quietly nagging at the back of Thor's mind.

“No answer?” Loki spread his arms. “Let’s revisit my previous years and see how unworthy I am.”

“Loki—” “Where shall I begin?” Loki mockingly put his hand on his chin as if thinking, “My birth is a good place to start as any. Odin said himself I should be dead. Figuratively and _literally_ unworthy to be alive, as me being a Jotün. We could round up the amount of people I have slept with for fun, toyed with, humiliated, and used to around two thousand. I let in Jötuns into Asgard so I could betray and kill them, including their King. I attempted to destroy Jötunheim. Then I was controlled by Thanos and made into his pathetic and weak servant— twice. So tell me, Thor,” he huffed angrily, glaring at his brother, “how am I worthy?”

Thor sighed and said quietly, “You’re not as evil as you make people believe.”

 

You laid down on the bed, your bed, Tony had informed you, the four of you were in your room. You let out a deep breath, looking up at the white ceiling as Doctor Strange entered your vision.

“You said before,” you swallowed dryly, “that you wanted to turn back the time on my brain, would that mean I wouldn’t remember any of this, or anything after the accident?”

“Correct.” Wong said.

You looked at your uncle, panicked and taking his hand, “But I want to remember everything. What if something goes wrong and I don’t remember anything, _again_?”

He squeezed your hand comfortingly, “Then we can do the other thing,” he looked to Strange and Wong, “right?”

The two Sorcerers exchanged quick looks with each other before looking back at Tony, “We’ve never done anything like that before.” Wong said, “In theory, we would pull her Astral form out of her body and open her mind and split her form into many, each containing different memories— including the ones that you don’t remember— and place them back in you.”

You swallowed, your nervousness doubling.

“As we said, we have never done that before. The most safest one would be the first method.”

Tony snapped his fingers and the three of you looked at him, “Her memories would be an almost tangible thing once you take them out, right?”

The Sorcerers nodded.

“So why don’t you guys take out her memories she has now, decrease the age on her brain moments before her accident, then add in these memories? Could that work?”

You turned your head to look at Strange, he and Wong were giving each other the same facial expression: possibly.

“That could work.” Strange said.

You looked back to Tony and whispered, “I’m extremely nervous, Tony.”

“I know, I know. Me too.” He said, giving your hand a squeeze. “Jarvis, can you call up Bucky?”

“Of course, sir.” Jarvis replied.

“Why?” Strange asked.

“When you turn back her brain,” Tony explained stroking your forehead, “the last thing she remembered before her accident was fighting. She might be absolutely furious, and with your,” he booped your nose playfully, “super-strength, you might do some damage on me.” He added a chuckle at the end to try to make you calmer, but it didn’t help.

“You asked for me?” Bucky entered the room and walked to the right side of the bed, giving you a smile before looking at the men.

“Just wanted you to be here as a precaution. Everything good to go, Strange? Wong?”

You whimpered and squeezed your uncle’s hand. Luckily he was holding your left hand, or his would have been crushed.

“We’re set.” Strange said. He tapped your forehead once and you looked up at him. “You’ll probably want to close your eyes. It might get _really_ psychedelic.”

You let out a shaky breath and looked to your uncle once more, who gave you a reassuring look and kissed you on the forehead.

“You’re going to be fine. I trust Strange and Wong. You’ll remember.”

“But what if something goes wrong? What if I forget again? I don’t want to forget you.” You said, very close to crying. Your heart hammered in your chest; you didn’t want you forget your uncle, or Bucky or any of the others.

“You won’t forget me, no matter what happens. You won’t forget yourself either, okay?”

You nodded.

“Repeat it back to me.” You swallowed and said with a smile, “ ‘You won’t forget yourself either, okay?’ ”

Tony chuckled with a smile, “Ready?” You nodded and closed your eyes, holding onto Tony’s hand.

“We’re good to go, Strange.” You heard Tony say, then in a few seconds you were asleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All comments are appreciated, as well are your kudos! <3 <3 Also, I don't mind criticism! (Trying to get more in depth of y/n's emotions) 
> 
> I'm also with TRY to post every week? I saw that I started this in late 2015, and ONLY have almost 50 chapters, is that a normal rate? I don't know, I feel like it should be higher. And honestly, I can see this fic going past 70 chapters, so if you were ever worried about when this will end, it won't be anytime soon! (Plus there will be a part 2 to this fic *dabs again but with more angst because Infinity Wars* )


	48. Remembering Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo again everyone! Another chapter ready to go!

 

Tony wasn’t sure how long this was supposed to take, but Strange had collapsed and was sat in a chair; the two of you were out on minute three now.

“You said you wanted me here as a precaution? For what?” Bucky asked, crossing his arms.

Tony glanced at Wong, who was standing guard next to Strange’s unconscious body.

“The last thing before (Y/n) slipped into her coma was—”

“Fighting Loki.” Bucky finished.

Tony nodded, stroking your hand with his. Bucky didn’t need any more explanation.

“I never thought we’d be here.” Tony said. He looked up at Wong, “Really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

Wong nodded, “You’re welcome. I feel this alliance will be important in the futur—” Doctor Strange awoke with a gasp, bolting up from his chair and pointing at you, “S-she’s going to wak—” you yanked your hand away from Tony’s, scrambling to sit up while kicking your leg out to hit Bucky, but he dodged quickly as you pushed yourself off of the bed and stood up, advancing on Bucky,

“Who are you, where am I, and where’s Loki?” You growled.

“(Y/n)?” You turned around and saw Tony standing alongside two men in strange clothing, one of which who had a cape. You ran to your uncle, pulling him into a hug, breathing a sigh of relief into his shoulder. “(Y/n), Nightlight, listen to me. A lot has happened and you need to listen and trust me.” Tony said, holding you at arms length, guiding you back to the bed.

And that’s when you noticed it.

You stopped dead in your tracks, lifting your right hand up and looking at it. No, this couldn’t be real.

“(Y/n), just sit down, I’ll explain everything.” Tony said.

You ran your left hand up and down your smooth metallic limb. “What happened to my arm?” You asked with panic, pushing your short sleeve up to reveal the red scar that joined your metal arm to your collarbone.

“(Y/n), you’re gonna be okay. This is Doctor Strange, Wong, and Bucky Barnes. What is the last thing you remember?” Tony asked, but you were too preoccupied with figuring out what happened to your arm.

“Please, Tony, what happened to me?” You begged.

He crouched down in front of you and took both of your hands in his and said gently, “Tell me what you last remember and I’ll fill you in.”

You couldn’t take your eyes off of your silvery hand as you spoke, “I was in the throne room in Asgard with Loki. He... he attacked me. I don’t want to talk about it.” You finished quietly. You looked up at Tony, “How long was I unconscious?”

“Now, I don’t think you want to know that right now—”

“Tony. Tell me how long.” You said firmly.

He sighed, “A year and a half.”

And you felt everything shatter. A year and a half. That was quite a long time to be disconnected from the world.

“The thing is, is that you woke up almost two months ago with no memories...” Tony said, proceeding to give you a run-down of why Doctor Strange and Wong were here and what they planned to do next. You swallowed all this information silently with little to no questions asked from you as you were too stunned to say anything. You sighed running your hand over your right arm again, looking at the four men in the room.

“And everyone’s okay? We didn’t lose anyone in Asgard?”

“No.”

You nodded.

Tony patted your knee and stood up, “Okay, so Strange, are we ready to continue?” Doctor Strange nodded, shaking himself out a little before asking you to lay down, which you obliged to somewhat hesitantly. He told you to close your eyes and the last thing you felt was Tony taking your hand in his.

 

 

“How is that even possible?” Sam asked, straining to lift Mjölnir off of the coffee table. “Let me try.” Clint said, patting the man on the shoulder to relieve him of his attempts, Sam huffed and backed away, “All yours, bird brother.”

Clint crackled his knuckles and grabbed the hilt of the hammer and gave one smooth pull, only to be stopped when it couldn’t be moved.

“How is Loki worthy if none of us are worthy? Even Steve?” Rhodey asked, nodding to the blonde man.

“That’s the whole point. How is Loki better than _any_  of us?” Natasha asked from her position from the kitchen chair, looking at Thor. With a defeated sigh, Clint walked away from the hammer and Peter took his place, struggling just as much to lift it.

“I do not know.” Thor said honestly, “Maybe it was (Y/n)?”

“Look, no offense to (Y/n) or Tony— I don’t know her personally, but unless she has him under a spell, I don’t really see how she could have made him so much better than any of us.” Sam said, crossing his arms.

“What exactly makes someone worthy, anyways?” Bruce asked.

“Courage amongst other things, I suppose. My father never told me, only saying ‘Whosoever is worthy, shall obtain the power of Thor’.”

“Does that mean he can use it just like you can?” Pepper asked.

“I assume so.” Thor nodded.

“So we don’t let him get the chance to.” Steve said, getting up from the couch.

“Obviously. He could probably level this whole building if he wanted to.” Sam agreed.

“I don’t think he cares too much about being worthy.”

“What makes you say that?” Happy asked.

Thor turned to him, “He just saved (Y/n), and she’s in the process of getting her memories returned, I am sure he’s concerned about her.”

 

 

You didn’t know what it felt like to lucid dream, but that’s exactly what you did. You remembered waking up in Alfeim, not remembering anything, and Tony explaining your life story. You remembered meeting the Queen Aelsa, and you remembered how _afraid_ you were of Loki. Even in your dream-state you got chills and goosebumps. You were now walking through the town with Thor, Tony, Bucky and Loki, and smiling when that little boy gave Bucky a flower.

You remember eating dinner and following that with a nightmare-induced sleep, waking up in the river and crying, with Bucky and Tony calming you down.

After that was sitting by the burning tree Thor had shot down with lightning, listening to Bucky as he told you his experiences with Hydra. Then it was morning and you were trying to lift Mjölnir but it only moved slightly. Your group was now walking through the woods, ignoring the taunts and teasing from the mermaids, and you had run off, hearing that Loki loved you.

You had fallen into a hole but Tony and Bucky got you out, and you were crying in your uncle’s arms again, wanting everything to be back to normal.

You remember camping for the night and getting into an argument with Tony and you slept away from the group, then in the morning your encounter with Loki. You had kissed him, and he kissed you back, but you were still so afraid of him. And then Bucky had caught the two of you, and you begged him not to tell.

Your memories were flooding back, everything you had done and said, and you weren’t sure what to think. Your face scrunched in irritation as the sunlight bled through the curtains, landing on your face.

“(Y/n), you’re awake?” Tony asked, and you nodded, rubbing your eyes with your hands.

It felt weird to feel the smooth metal of your hand, but to get feeling from it all seemed... strange. You opened your eyes and saw everyone standing where they had been standing before.

You sat up slowly as your uncle asked if you remembered anything. You nodded, telling him you remembered everything, telling him a few examples. That’s when he sat on the bed and hugged you tightly, kissing you on the side of your forehead.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was Hydra the entire time?

“Do you want to go see the others?” He asked, pulling away and stroking your hands.

“Yeah.” You nodding and standing. A small part of you said you should take it slow, but you had plenty of time to relax after meeting everyone.

“How are you feeling?” Wong asked, and you turned to face him. “Any headaches? Anything unusual?” Strange asked.

You rubbed the back of your neck, then was startled to feel that you had short hair. “Uh, no. No headaches. No visual problems. Just a bit dizzy slash disoriented. I suppose that was from before outside.” You answered, feeling your hair in a somewhat vain way.

“Are you sure you’re good to see them now?” Tony double checked.

“It might be to much for you.” Bucky said.

You turned to him, almost forgetting he was there. You looked at him, seeing him differently in some way, but you weren’t sure why.

“Thank you but... I think I’m ready to see them. But thank you for your concern.” You smiled, walking over to him and hugging him for a moment. “Thank you for being there for me when Tony was upsetting me.” You said quietly.

He smiled, “Of course, (Y/n). I’ll always be there if you need me.”

You gave him a grin before turning to the two Sorcerers, “And thank you guys so much for helping me get my memories back, and for the surgeries.” You turned back to Bucky, “And thanks for letting Tony base my arm off of yours. I can imagine some times he was a pain in the butt.”

You smirked at your uncle, walking over to him. “And thank you for going through hell to make me safe.”

“Always a pleasure, Nightlight.” He smiled.

You heard the humming of the air conditioner turn on, and a cold wind blew through the room. You shivered slightly, “Are my clothes in there?” You asked, pointing to dresser behind Bucky.

“Yeah. Go ahead, we’ll be right outside your door.” Tony said as everyone started to exit the room. Tony shut your room door and you looked around. This was your room, now. You wondered why everyone moved out of Stark Towers. You walked over to your dresser, opening the drawers to figure out where which clothes were. You chuckled upon opening your bra and underwear drawer, imagining Tony when he had to dump all of them in the drawer, luckily for him you didn’t have too many lacy articles.

You decided on a whim to take a shower before seeing everyone, so you got out a new pair of both of those items and tossed them onto your bed, then searched a few more drawers for some pants and shirt. You pulled out some jeans that you were pretty sure were your favorite pair, tossing it on the bed along with a long sleeved shirt. You rifled through a few more drawers, just to see where things were, and you noticed something was missing. You looked up at the closet doors and walked to them and pulled them open. On one door was a full length mirror and on the other were several hooks lined up neatly, ready for almost anything to be placed on them. Your dresses you had were hanging, along with some blouses. You pushed each hanger aside until you stopped at what you were looking for.

You sighed, feeling your old uniform; the thick, dull latex material running through your fingers, easier through your right hand than your left. It was intact for the most part, other than your right sleeve was cut off. You thought back to every mission you went on, every one could have been your last. The one on Asgard _was_  your last. You could have died, and you should have been stronger. Thinking back to it —if your memory served you right— you realized you had a few places you could have taken advantage of Loki. You shouldn’t have let him stun you with his words, you let your emotions get in the way —the exact thing you promised Clint _wouldn’t_ happen.

You released your uniform and walked to your bed, gathering the clothes and heading for the door and opening it. You smiled at the men standing there, “I actually decided to take a shower.” You said, awkwardly shuffling your clothes in your arms. “I’ll show you where the bathroom is.” Tony said, taking you down the hall and opening the door for you.

“Thanks. I’ll be downstairs in a few.” You said, then closed the door. What building was this anyways? You set your clothes on the sink and crossed the cold room, turning the water on hot then pulled the small plug to redirect the water to shoot out of the shower head. You walked back to the sink, sighing and pressing your hands to your face, looking at your reflection.

You remembered forgetting and you remembered remembering, even the things you’d have preferred not to. You took off the clothes Gamora had lent to you and checked the water temperature— just right. You stripped off the rest of your clothes and stepped into the tub, hesitant of getting your metal arm wet, but found Tony was true to his word and seeing that it was waterproof. You suddenly thought back to the events outside.

Loki was worthy. He had saved you, and he was worthy. But to his recent events, you found that impossible. He called you a whore, and you were pretty damn sure that didn’t go under ‘worthy’. You picked out a nice smelling shampoo and started washing your hair. You were also pretty sure jealousy didn’t make someone worthy; you imagined bravery and kindness and helping others made someone worthy. But then you remembered the club, how he had talked to you, so gently, along with the way he kissed you. How he had comforted you after Tony’s ban on you and Loki seeing each other; Loki had been good to you, a perfect gentleman, but you weren’t sure if that had been all an act.

It probably was, remembering how he called you a whore without hesitation, and that stung your heart. You remembered how Thor had told you of Loki’s original mission to find the Infinity Stone; maybe Thor had let it slip that _you_ knew of its whereabouts, and that’s why Loki had gotten close to you.

Had made you love him.

Maybe that was the truth.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, of course, due to rewriting the enTIRE FUTURE PLOT. YOU HONESTLY HAVE NO IDEA HOW QUICKLY I CHANGED THE UPCOMING PLOT AND EVENTS. Obviously to something crueler than my original storyline for this next half of this fic, but hey, angst is tagged for a reason. I don't even remember how I came to the decision to change it, but I remember thinking "How about for this storyline, I change it from :) to :'(" so the last half of this chapter and everything after this is my changed plan, mwahaha.
> 
> All of your kudos warm my heart, along with your comments, so feel free to do so! <3 <3 <3


	49. Hello Darkness My Old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *wakes up too early for where I need to go* eh why not post this chapter with my free time
> 
> You: *probably lets out a sob at the chapter length and praises any deity you wish* thank you Chloe

 

You finished your shower and changed into the clean clothes you brought in with you, then started brushing your hair, thinking about everything. _“He’s the God of Lies.”_ Tony had said to you, _“Always has been, always will be.”_

You frowned at your reflection; you had thought you were able to tell when someone really cared about you, but you suppose you were no match for a God. You set the brush down on the edge of the sink, shaking the negative thoughts out of your head and grabbing your dirty clothes and towel, going back to your room and tossing them into what you were pretty sure was the empty hamper.

You grabbed a pair of socks and quickly put them on and left the room, going back to the elevator and pressing the button. The doors dinged open and you entered looking at all the buttons. LL. LBL. UL. LR1. LR2. LR3. P. 1ST. 2ND. 3RD. 4TH.

“Tony and the others are on the first floor, Miss.” Jarvis’s voice came from the speakers above, and he moved the elevator to that floor.

“Thank you, Jarvis. It’s really good to hear your voice and actually know who you are.” You said with a smile.

“Thank you, miss.” You always could tell when he was blushing. You felt the elevator slow to a stop and the doors behind you opened and you turned around. You exited the elevator and looked around.

To your left was what looked like a large kitchen area and a hall, and to your right you heard voices that belonged to your teammates. To your family.

You smoothed down your shirt and took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself. You jumped up and down a few times to get yourself motivated— you had no idea why you were so nervous. You counted to three in your head and when you hit that number you nervously walked out to where everyone was. You saw everyone still in their uniforms standing or sitting in various places, talking to each other.

The first one to notice you was Steve, he quickly shushed everyone else and they all turned to you. Tony was walking towards you when Clint jumped over the couch and ran to you, almost knocking you over when he hugged you tightly, lifting you off of the ground.

“I’m so sorry.” He said in a choked voice, muffled by the sound of tears.

You hugged him back, rubbing his shoulders, “Clint—”

“I shouldn’t have let you go by yourself.” He cried, his sobs shaking you. Ge lowered to bacj ti the ground.

“I’m fine, Clint. It’s oka—”

“It’s not okay.” He whimpered, holding you tighter, “I risked your life, (Y/n). You were dead and it would hav—”

“Wait,” you pulled away from him but still held him in an embrace, “what do you mean I was dead?”

“You know Loki’s strength, (Y/n).” Clint said, wiping away his tears.

You nodded, swallowing. He took your hand and guided you to your family and you were immediately hounded with hugs and kisses from everyone except the Guardians and the Sorcerers.

“I see you have Bucky’s other arm.” Steve joked, looking from you then to his friend.

“Yeah, well she has all of your brains.” Bucky said, smiling.

“How do you feel?” Natasha asked after releasing you from a hug.

“Honestly,” you said in a quiet voice, “I’m not sure.”

She nodded, offering you her spot on the couch next to your uncle, which you accepted.

“So, tell me guys, what happened over the past year and a half? Tony already told me that S.H.I.E.L.D. fell.” You said, then looked around, “Is Director Fury gonna show up?”

“No.” Tony said quickly. You looked to the others, “Is he dead?”

“We don’t know.” Natasha said.

“Last time _I_ saw him was when he visited you in the hospital.” Tony explained.

“No one kept in contact with him?” You asked, looking at Clint and Nat.

“He contacted us when there was a mission to do, but we need actually saw him again until a year later with the whole Hydra fiasco.” Natasha said.

“Tony blamed him for your accident. I guess Fury thought it was better to stay away from then on.” Steve explained.

You sighed, and rested your chin on your templed hands, “Okay. What else happened?”

So then everyone went around and explained what had happened. Tony began first, saying that a few months after the attack on Asgard, a man known as the Mandarin attacked.

“We lost the Malibu house?” You verified sadly. Tony nodded. You loved that beach by the house.

Pepper, Rhodey and Happy chimed in with their own commentary every few minutes as Tony continued, at some points dialing down Tony’s exaggerated plot and explaining what actually happened.

Once he finished his story, Thor started his about how Jane found the Aether and how a Dark Elf, Malekith, wanted to find it and use it to make the universe dark again. Your heart gave a hard twinge when Thor announced that his mother had been killed.

Everyone, excluding the Sorcerers and Guardians of the Galaxy, gave their condolences.

Thor passed through his story, going on about how Loki had helped him stop Malekith, almost loosing his life in the process.

Thor finished and Nat and Steve explained how they figured out that S.H.I.E.L.D. was Hydra, and finding Bucky.

You listened to their stories, fear slowly spilling into you. The world as you knew it could have ended so many times, but the Avengers were there to stop it, fearless or not, they helped.

But you weren’t sure if you could do the same.

Clint then said to you that he was retired, wanting to enjoy other things before he kicked the bucket.

Tony chuckled, “You’ll be back on the field before you know it.”

“Eh, I don’t know about that.” Clint said, rubbing his neck.

“Retiring is an option?” You asked, looking at Tony.

“Yeah, I mean, there’s a point when you get too old and your bones get too creaky to save the world, right?”

“Unless you have a super-serum.” Bruce joked, looking at Steve. A few people smiled and you put a fake one on, _or unless you’re too terrified_ , you thought.

“Once we get a mission for you, you can go out and do it.” Tony said, wrapping his arm around you.

You nodded and looked down at your lap briefly, nervousness strumming through you. Why were you feeling this? You were more than eager to jump back into getting on a mission, saving people, but all of a sudden you were finding that this was too much.

“So where do you fit in this, Doctor Strange?” Bruce asked, sitting on the arm of the couch.

You couldn’t focus as Strange began his story, you were too occupied with figuring out how to get off of doing missions, and why you were feeling this way. You thought back to your missions again, just like you had thought in the shower, you could have died during any of them, but you continued to go out. Why? _I was strong_ , you thought, _and now I’m not_.

And it was because of your last mission.

Asgard.

Loki had changed you there, you believed that he had been brainwashed, but now you weren’t sure. True, you were scared when you went on missions, but you had fought through that feeling somehow. You knew that if you went on future missions, everyone would protect you like a toddler on candy, but that thought didn’t comfort you.

You nodded along, pretending to listen to what the Sorcerer was saying as you thought about being an Avenger.

It was like being a soldier in a war where your enemy was so much stronger than your team. And with wars, people die.

Innocent people died, right in front of your eyes.

It was such a long time ago, but the memory of your first mission came back to you. You remembered how you didn’t get any sleep and how cried to Tony, telling him how terrified you had been. You were shaking for hours. But then he had calmed you down enough to get some sleep, but you had nightmares and woke up crying for him again. A week later you had been mostly fine and gotten back on the metaphorical horse and did another mission. Then another, and another, and another and you were saving people and making the world a better and safer place. But none of that seemed to shake your scared feeling of doing another mission.

You couldn’t. You just couldn’t.

Your inner turmoil reminded you of an episode of _Everybody Loves Raymond_ , where one of the characters which happened to be a police man was gored by a loose bull in the city. Once the character had fully recovered, he was scared of going back to work. Then his brother Raymond, the star of the show, told him he needed to face his fears, and took Robert to petting zoo where the bull was placed. _Maybe those rules could apply to me now_ , you thought, looking up to see Doctor Strange creating a large glowing symbol in front of him.

Even though _Everybody Loves Raymond_ was fiction, this, sitting with your friends and family, with the Avengers, Guardians, and Sorcerers, was not fiction. This was as real as anything. And life does imitate art, so why not?

Why not face Loki one more time to see if you could do this? You felt this new strength in you; like you could do anything.

What could wrong, right?

 

 

Tony led you downstairs to where Loki was contained in his cell. When the two of you hit the last step you stopped your uncle and yourself, watching Loki.

His back was to you and he was swirling his hands in the air, green light shimmering from his palms as he created a large, four-antlered tiger in his cell. It prowled around when Loki lowered his arms to his sides, growling at the small area and climbing over the chair, it’s heavy looking and large body weighed nothing as it balanced itself on the back of the chair, it's terrifyingly large and sharp claws digging into the wood.

It’s large, purple eyes locked onto yours and you gasped, backing away, but Tony pulled you closer, reminding you that he was there.

Loki waved his arms and in the same green light the tiger was created in, it shimmered away from existence. He chuckled silently— you knew he did that by the way his shoulders moved ever so slightly up and down with the shake of his head. You knew him so well.

He turned around, “And whom do I owe the pleasure of—” he stopped when his eyes landed on yours. The two of you stared at each other, hidden anger and fright underneath your calm face.

“When did you get your powers back?” Tony demanded.

“I suppose when I was worthy.” Loki said, looking at the front and back of his hands.

“Can you give us a minute or two alone?” You asked, “I’ll come up when I’m done.”

“No.”

“Tony.” You pleaded.

“He has his powers back, he can hurt you again.” Tony said.

“And with my super-strength I can hurt him right back.” Tony glanced from the prisoner, then to you, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. And please, don’t spy on us. I just want to have a private conversation.”

Tony sighed, hesitantly letting your hand go and backed away, going up the stairs.

“Jarvis, can you open the door, please?” You asked.

“Are you sure?” His voice came from above.

“Yes, please.”

The keypad turned green and the door opened. You took a few steps into the cell and Loki stood there, not saying a word.

You crossed your arms, waiting. He needed to apologize for what he had said to you.

“What are you waiting for?” He asked sharply.

“For you to apologize to me.” You stated.

“How about a ‘thank you’ for saving your life out there? Had I not jumped—”

“And why did you?” You asked, keeping your voice even, “The last time we talked, you accused me of sleeping with Bucky and called me a whore.”

He let out a heavy breath, looking away and clenching his teeth. “So why did you jump for me if you didn’t care about me?”

“Because of sentiment. Old habit, saving you.” He walked across the room and stood against the wall.

“Not just because of that.” You said, ignoring your conmon sense and walking over to him.

“You think it wise to be near me?” He hissed.

His attitude stung you, and the anger in his eyes were scary up close. You rememvered him being pissy when he first had stepped foot in Stark Towers.

“No, I don’t. Not for anyone else.” You said with a shrug.

“You think you’re so special simply because I pay attention to you?” He said, tapping his chest.

“Well, yes.” You said with a smile. His hand shot out and grabbed your throat, pressing you against the wall.

“Miss?” Jarvis asked with concern.

“I’m fine.” You squeaked out, trying to slip your metal fingers under Loki’s tight ones.

“That’s where you’re wrong. You are not special.” He whispered menacingly.

“I’m not special, I’m marvelous.” You said with a pained smile, throwing Loki’s words about you at him.

He bared his teeth, growling, “You’re a liar, just like Thor and Odin and everyone else I know. It would be a pity if I had to mortally hurt you.” He said, squeezing your throat tighter.

You kept your feet planted on the floor, resisting the strong urge to kick him away. “But you won’t.” You said, trying to pry his fingers off.

“And why is that?” You took his free hand then pressed it against your chest, right above your panicking, quick-paced heart. It was getting harder to breathe, and you were quickly starting to panic.

“Because this is _me._ You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“But I have, haven’t I?”

“Not your fault.” He let out a heavy breath, feeling your vein with his finger.

“It was a rumor what you heard about me and Bucky.” You said hurriedly, looking into his eyes to find them full of anger, “You need to believe and trust me that I-I would never do that to you. I would never hurt you like that, Loki. I... I care about you. And I know under this wall you’ve built, I’m hoping you still care me too, and I’m so sorry I made you block yourself off from me because of those stupid rumors.” You started to feel a sting behind your eyes while Loki’s face remained emotionless.

“Please.” You whimpered, looking down as you continued to struggle with removing his hand. You didn’t know what else to say. You gently squeezed his hand that was over your heart with yours, rubbing his slender fingers. “Please let me go.” You whimpered.

Everything was contradicting what you were feeling right now. His hand around your throat made you relive the fear you had in Asgard and you squeezed your eyes shut, trying to not show how terrified you were. But then slowly, one by one, his fingers lifted off of you and you were able to breath properly again.

You saw emotion in his eyes: anger and regret.

He walked away, hands on his hips, “What do you expect me to do? Forget everything bad that’s happened between us?”

“I admit it’s not as simple as that.” You explained in a shaky voice, relieved that he was at a distance while you tried to slow your breathing, “Some things a-are easier to forgive and forget than others. We just need to build that trust between us again.”

“I hate that word.” He grumbled, looking at the floor.

“Trust? Why? You used to trust me when it was our lives on the line during missions.” You said.

“Because you know my life.” He snapped, looking up at you, “I trusted Odin when I was a naïve child, I trusted Thor and his so-called ‘friends’. I some-what knew your Avengers wouldn’t kill me after going on a few missions with them and giving them information they wanted. I trusted Thor, _again_. I trusted you.”

You felt that ice-cold dagger rip your heart when he said that.

“Trust always ends me up here.” He spread his arms then fell back into his chair that had been claimed by the illusionary tiger, “In a cell.”

You sighed. _You need to change your methods of doing things, that’s all_ , was what you wanted to say to him, but you knew that would make him more upset.

You walked towards him and stood in between his open legs.

“I’m sorry.” He sighed, looking up at you. He sat forward, gently placing his hands on the side of your legs. He leaned his forehead against your stomach and let out a sigh, caressing your thighs which made you feel uneasy and take a nervous step backwards.

He was going too fast.

He caught you by your hand as you were ready to take another step back, pulling you to sit on his lap, and you squeaked nervously as you brought your knees to his left side. He looked up you when you made that sound.

“I was never a lap-sitter.” You said, avoiding his gaze. That was a pathetic excuse but true, and you hoped Loki couldn’t see through your half lie.

You could feel the stress and anger rolling off of him, in turn making you anxious.

“I... care about you, Loki.” You slowly told him, rubbing his hands. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against yours.

“Do you still... l-love me?” You asked quietly. You were afraid of his answer. You knew it was a reality that he could say ‘no’. You weren’t sure what you were feeling besides nervousness, and you weren’t sure how you would feel if he said ‘yes’.

Just as he opened his mouth you interrupted him, “If you don’t... please, please, don’t lie to me. Tell me and I will understand.”

“What?” He looked at you incredulously, “(Y/n), I may say hurtful things, horrible things, but it’s just my ego. I will still love you.” He replied.

Your heart clenched a little and you flinched away as he raised his hands to cradle the side of your face.

Seeing how you reacted, he lowered his hand back down to hold yours again, and smiled at you.

He still loved you, and you had to feel the same way, you had to, you didn’t want to upset him.

You could still see some hardness and pain in his eyes, his body still a little too tense, a little too on edge for your comfort.

He squeezed your right hand, “I am so sorry for calling you a whore. I didn’t mean it.”

You nodded stiffly, clenching your teeth, “I know. And I’m sorry for saying those things to you.”

He moved his hand up your back and gently touched your jaw and turned your head, letting him look at the red handprint and fingers he had left on your throat.

“I’m sorry.” He said, gently brushing his fingertips down to your collarbone.

“It’s... alright.”

“It’s not, really.” He said with a bitter chuckle. You knew it wasn’t alright.

“You keep letting me get away with things. You keep giving me the benefit of the doubt, why?” He looked at you, genuine curiosity on his face.

“You give the benefit of the doubt to people you... care about.” You said, your eyes roaming his face, “A person can trust someone for only so long. People have their limits, and so do I.”

Loki understood your underlying message: _If you hurt me too much, you will lose me._

He lifted his hand and it turned blue, the color crawling up his wrist and arm. You saw his hand going for your neck and you instinctively leaned away, grabbing his wrist.

The two of you looked at each other.

“I just want to cool you so there won’t be any swelling.” He gently explained.

You nodded and raised your chin, holding your grip on his wrist as he pressed his hand to your throat. You sighed, feeling the coolness of his palm against your throbbing throat.

You had a part in your brain that knew he wouldn’t hurt you again, not right now, but you had to be... cautious. You rubbed his wrist; he gave you every right to be cautious about him, to be frightened of him, and you right now were fighting every fiber of common sense to get off of him and leave.

But you still cared about him. And you knew he loved you, you knew he would do everything in his power not to slip up again... but you felt like you were at the end of your rope with him.

“You remember everything?”

You nodded, “Yep.”

Loki moistened his lips, “How much of everything?”

You cleared your throat, “If you mean about what happened in Asgard, I... I do.”

You felt his cold fingers caress your throat again as he whispered, “I’m sorry. I am truly... sorry. If I...” He didn’t know how to apologize. How could anyone just apologize for something that horrible?

He sighed and touched under your chin, your breathing quickened as you watched him lean in close to kiss you.

You panicked, turning your head away so his lips brushed against your cheek.

“Sorry. I... I don’t want to go too fast. I want to get settled in, make sure we both want the same things before we... _if_... if we go on with this relationship.” You looked at him and he nodded,

“Alright.”

You gently pushed his hand away from your throat and he pulled it back, his hand in a fist and that set you off.

An electric buzz ran through your body as you leapt off of him and backed away, cursing at the fear running through you. You rubbed your eyes, trying to rub away the memory that surfaced subconsciously.

Every hair on your body was standing as you fought the urge to faint.

“(Y/n)?” You held your hand out to stop him.

You felt a tight knot in your stomach, trying to forget how his knuckles beat against your face mercilessly.

“I’m fine.” You said, knowing perfectly well he knew you were lying.

You removed your hands from your face ignoring the stinging of tears behind your eyes. You let out another breath and looked at the floor and saying to yourself, “I’m fine.”

You let out a slow breath, focusing on cracking the knuckles on your left hand. “I’m fine.”

You looked up at him, swallowing your tears. The chair the two of you were sitting in had been knocked over backwards, and worry was etched on his face.

You looked at his chest, unable to look into his eyes without tears spilling from your own.

“Everything is fresh in my mind. So I... want to let you know that.” You explained slowly.

Loki nodded, rubbing his nose before lowering his hand again, “I understand. I’m sorry.”

You nodded, looking at the floor.

“I just...” You sighed, rubbing your arms awkwardly as you felt that all too familiar sting in your eyes.

“I don’t know what I want from you.” You said quietly, trying the phrase this as best as you could, “I’m feeling all these things and I’m not sure about a lot of it.” You swallowed, “I will still care about you,” you weren’t sure if you meant fear instead of care, “we will still have our past, but I don’t know where I want to go from here.”

You chanced looking up up his face, expecting him to be angry and full of rage, but he was the exact opposite. He looked tired and sad, both hands in front of him, fiddling with each other. You remembered how he did that. “Would you mind if we could talk about this?” He asked.

You shook your head, letting out a breath, “No, I don’t mind.”

 _Talking should make me understand what I want_ , you thought.

Your stomach growled loudly and your eyes widened in embarrassment.

“You should probably get something to eat then.” Loki chuckled.

You nodded, stepping back towards the door. Back to assured safety.

“Do you want anything?” You asked out of being polite.

He shook his head.

“Okay. I’ll come back in a little bit and we can talk.” You said, looking over his cell once more before placing your eyes on the prince.

Loki nodded with a tight smile, “That would be lovely.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah the next chapter you may or may not want tobe snuggled up for the next chapter, perhaps with a tissue box? Your physical form should be comfy, but your emotional form will definitely not be.


	50. Sleep Pretty Darling, Do Not Cry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is based off of lyrics in the song "Golden Slumbers" by the Beatles. Thank you so much for all your love and devotion to this fic <3 <3

 

Sam had made dinner for everyone, which then you learned he was a fantastic cook. You sat in between your uncle and Pepper, who seemed to only tolerate him for your sake, and across from Peter.

“How’d your talk go with Loki?” Tony asked, taking a sip from his whiskey.

You looked down at your spaghetti chicken parmigiana, twirling the noodles around your fork, “It was fine. We have some things to discuss so I’m gonna talk to him again.”

An uproar of laughter started on the Guardians’ side of the table; whatever story they were telling your friends must have been hilarious, because even Bruce was laughing with his head in his hands. You remembered having big meals like this and how every small joke set you off in a spur of laughter, and you had to excuse yourself from the table to stop laughing.

“Really?” Pepper asked.

You nodded, eating your forkful. You continued eating without talking unless someone spoke to you; you listened in on stories from Wong and Doctor Strange, trying to forget your problems.

Everyone made their way through their dinner and got up and started taking empty dishes away from people, but Happy tapped you on the shoulder and carefully took the dirty plates from you, saying, “You should probably relax for a little bit. I’ve got this covered.”

You thanked him and returned to your seat. You watched as Sam got up and hurriedly go back to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“Right,” you heard Steve say to Clint, “I almost forgot, too.”

Clint nodded back to him, and you turned your attention to Sam, who was bringing over a pie. A chocolate pie, your favorite after apple and pumpkin.

“Make way for a special delivery.” He announced, reaching over you and placing the pie in front of you and sticking a candle in it.

“What’s this for?” You asked, looking up at him.

“The Avengers are together again, I think that’s cause for celebration.” Happy said, taking Bucky’s plate away.

“Plus you weren’t here for your birthday.” Tony said, pulling out a lighter and setting the candle tip on fire. Tony raised his hands in the air as if he were a conductor, and everyone started to sing ‘Happy Birthday’.

“Really, you don’t have to do this.” You blushed.

Tony kissed you on the forehead and you were being overwhelmed with emotions, giggling a little bit at Clint’s falsetto voice and wiping a few tears from your eyes.

Pure love was in this room right now, nothing more and nothing less. Everyone here loved you, and you remembered how that felt. You put a hand over your heart and smiled as they finished the song.

“Make a wish.” They all said.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, _I wish every day could be this joyful_ , and you blew out the candle, opening your eyes to see everyone clapping.

Pepper started cutting the pie, apologizing if there wasn’t enough for everyone. Rocket said loudly that he didn’t like chocolate, that it didn’t sit well with his stomach.

Pepper gave you the first slice and you thanked her and started eating it. You quickly finished your pie, listening in on Peter tell everyone all the amazing adventures they had gone on, which reminded you of your fear.

“Tony, can I talk to you in private?” You whispered as you stood.

He nodded seriously and the two of you got up and he guided you back in the direction of the elevator, but passed it and led you down a hall and into a game room, closing the door as you sat down on the couch.

“What’s up?” He asked, joining you.

You sniffles quietly, “I don’t think I can be an Avenger anymore.”

He put his arm around you, “Hey, hey, why not? You wanted nothing more than to go on missions—”

“I know, I know.” You said, brushing back some loose hairs, “But now I remember how terrifying they were. I can’t believe I did those things. I killed people.”

“You killed _bad_ people. Don’t forget that.” Tony said, rubbing your back.

“But still. I would jump out of planes and use my powers and climbed places and get shot and attacked.” You said, winding your hand in his shirt as you felt a new wave of tears, “I was gone too long... I lost my rhythm. I don’t think I can do this.” You leaned against him. Your uncle, no matter how much the two of you bickered, he would _always_ be there for you.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” He said, trying to soothe you, “You’ve done so much for the Avengers in your young life, you deserve a break or even a permanent retire.”

“You’re not upset?” You asked, looking up at him.

“Of course not.” He pulled you closer, “You’ve contributed a lot...” And Tony continued to calm you, reassuring that it was perfectly normal to not want to risk your life. He was absolutely fine without your life on the line.

He cheered you up by challenging you in a game of Mario Kart and setting up the Wii. You smiled as he handed you the sleek remote control and started the game. Halfway through the second round you remembered that you had to speak with Loki, but that bitter feeling didn’t stop you from pushing Tony’s character into the water.

 

 

When you approached Loki’s cell you saw that he was laying down on the small cot. His feet dangled over the end and he didn’t have a pillow.

He sat up when he saw you, “I didn’t think you would come back.”

You brushed that comment aside, “When was the last time you slept in a real bed?”

“What does that have to do—”

“How long?” You gently cut him off.

He sighed, “Two years, more or less.” You glanced at the keypad, “Jarvis, can—”

“I think it would be wise to think reevaluate your plan.” Jarvis suggested hesitantly.

You knew what you were doing. You didn’t feel comfortable in that cell with him, but if he were in your room, he would be on your turf, and you could have the advantage.

Not being in a basement cell was also fun, too.

“I know what I’m doing.”

There was a few moments of silence, then the keypad flashed green and the door slid open. You gave Loki a quick wave to come to you, and he exited the cell swiftly.

He followed you up the stairs, going all the way to the fourth floor where your room was; the entire time having your neck tingling with the thought of him behind you. You pushed open the stairwell door and guided Loki through, just as you were about to reach your room, the elevator doors opened and none other than your uncle, Clint, and Doctor Strange stepped out, and all of their attention was on you and Loki about to go into your room.

You were panicking; you _knew_ what this looked like.

“What is this?” Tony asked quietly.

“I— I just wanted to talk with Loki. I didn’t feel comfortable in the basement.” You said weakly, not looking at anyone. You swallowed, “He hadn’t slept in a proper bed for so long and I—”

“Thought you could share yours with him?” Tony said, breaking the line of his friends and grabbing your arm and pulling you away from Loki; but the prince was quicker, prying Tony’s hand off of you and blocking you from your uncle.

“Loki, stop.” You said, trying to sound strong, but it came out as a whimper. You stepped around your protector to see your uncle glaring at him, and vice versa.

“How about we all take a step back and calm down.” Clint suggested, putting a firm grip on Tony’s shoulder while glaring at Loki.

“I’m just trying to figure things out, Tony.” You said to your uncle. All the tension was making you feel nauseous. “I just wanted to talk with him and sort some things out. And I know what this looks like and I _promise_ , Tony, we weren’t going to do anything else but talk and then go to sleep.”

“So this was going to be a sleepover with your boyfriend?” Tony snapped.

You clenched your fists, “He’s not my boyfriend.”

At that you felt Loki’s harsh demeanor weaken.

You walked to your uncle and took both of his hands in yours, “Tony...” You looked at Clint and released your uncle, signing to Clint everything you couldn’t, or didn’t want to, say with words. You explained things to him, how you were feeling, as your memory of Sign Language came back to you. Clint let go of Tony’s shoulder and watched your hands make gestures and spell things.

Clint moved closer to you and stilled your hands, looking you deep in the eye and nodding, “I understand.”

You let out a sigh of relief.

“What did you say?” Tony asked you.

Clint gently patted him on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear and proceeded to take Tony to his room, followed by Strange. You watched them enter and shut the door as you and Loki entered your room.

“You can sleep on my bed.” You said, watching him wander and look around your room. He remembered how you said set up small items in your old room, and didn’t see any of it. Your room was bare for the exception of furniture and moving boxes containing your old things.

“I won’t have time to decorate.” You explained, sitting on the edge of your bed.

Loki turned to you, taking note of how you phrased that sentence. He sat down on your bed as well, sighing at the softness. His armor shimmered away and was replaced by his pajamas you had seen him wear.

You decided to keep your clothes from earlier on, you didn’t want to change again, and you were sure you would feel vulnerable if you wore your loose fitting pajamas.

“If you don’t feel comfortable with me sleeping in your room, I understand if you wish me to leave.”

“It’s fine.” You said quietly.

“Are you sure?”

You nodded. He would have to sleep facing away from you, but you were sure you could handle it. He slowly raised his long legs and rested them on the bed with a sigh, slowly getting comfortable.

You decided you should get comfortable as well, and you leaned against the headboard.

“(Y/n)?”

“Hm?” You looked up at him.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” He asked, which made you give him a tight lipped smile, but it quickly faded as you answered, “I’m sorry. Just thinking about... everything. I’m sorry about the way Tony treated you.”

You crossed your legs Indian style and faced him. Loki only nodded, casually reaching over and rubbing your hands with his.

“Loki...”

“Yes?” He was playfully bumping your hands together.

“What do you feel about us? About me?” You asked, and he stopped his motion, a serious tone taking over him and making you worry.

“I feel that though everything that’s happened, we can work it out. I know it will be hard on your part, but I promise on my life I’ll be there to help you. I would be more than happy to get back to the way things were.” Loki said, lifting your hand to brush your knuckles against his sharp cheekbone. “And for what I think of you,” he said in a low voice that caused your stomach to flutter, “I think— I _know_ that you are the most special, enticing woman and Midgardian that I have ever met.”

“H-how so?” You asked, feeling a blush rise on your face.

He moved your metal knuckles to his lips without kissing them, “You are strong, beautiful and witty beyond imagine. Every time you’re near me I feel at ease.”

You swallowed, ashamed that couldn’t say the same thing.

“Every time I see you or think of you, I’m absolutely at your call and your attention. I report to no other than you.” He closed his eyes peacefully and finally kissed your knuckles, “The way your lips move when you read; how you hold yourself up with such authority; that fire in your eyes when anyone dare challenge your word— and then the way you control yourself. A fiery warrior one moment, and then a loving woman in another, and then back again.” His kisses slowly passed your wrist and you didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop. He pulled you closer so that you were on your knees and almost straddling him.

“This beautiful, chaotic power you possess enthralls me, (Y/n).” He whispered, kissing the base of your neck, causing a hot feeling in your stomach. “The way you protect those you love is admirable and attractive.” He said, letting go of your left hand, moving it to cradle the back of your head as you put your hands on his chest. “I saw every good thing in you as you managed to see and expose every good thing in me.” Loki said, moving your hair out of his way to kiss your neck, making you sigh and shiver. While one hand kept your hair away, the other slid in between the two of you and started lifting your shirt, making you grab his hand and stop him.

He slowly released your hair and pulled away from you.

“I...” You carefully got off of him and sat against the headboard again, pulling your legs up and placing your arms on your knees, not looking at him.

“Can we get some sleep?” You asked, turning to look at him.

He nodded, looking somewhat dejected, “Of course.”

 

 

Your lacked any good dream that night; nightmares and visions of death and harm plagued your mind. Everyone you loved was dead. Loki had been helping fight alongside you, but then he obtained an Infinity Stone and turned his back on you, fighting you and blast you square in your torso with his scepter.

 

 

You woke up startled, your stomach squirming and numb.

“You had a nightmare.” Loki said, one hand was on your left shoulder and the other was on your lifted leg. You let out a shaky breath as he removed himself from you. You looked out your window, then to the clock on your nightstand; 3:18 A.M. and you laid down flat, staring up at the ceiling and recalling your nightmare.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” You said, swallowing your tears and resting your arm over your eyes.

“You’re going to get better.”

You felt him shift on the bed. “I don’t know if I can handle this.” You said slowly, gesturing the two of you as you lowered your arm from your face and sat up, looking at him teary-eyed.

“I remember what Thanos made you do to me. I remember everything, and I know Tony will be against us and I don’t know if I can be steady with him against us. Against me. I don’t want anymore pain or drama.” You ended quietly.

“I understand.” Loki said just as quiet, nodding slowly. He took your hand again, rubbing the smooth metal with his thumbs in a comforting way.

“Just understand that I _will_ be there for you, always. If you ever need me, know that I will help you.” He said in that same quiet voice, “It won’t be like before; I will never dream of saying another ill thing about you or behind your back. I would be the sole definition of support, (Y/n).” He wetted his lips, “If you give me one more chance to make things right.”

“I just... Loki...” You broke your gaze with him and looked down at your lap, tears threatening to fall.

Loki felt a sudden tight feeling in his stomach and chest. His instincts were telling him what was about to happen, but he angrily brushed it aside, not wanting to believe.

“I will always care about your well-being because I’m a good person.” You said, not knowing that under his calm façade, Loki’s nerves were pulled so tight the dullest of knives could cut them.

You pulled your hand away from his and he was already missing you.

“But, Loki, I’m sorry,” you sobbed, looked up at him as your tears started to fall, “I don’t know if I’m in love with you anymore.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Golden slumbers fill your eyes,  
> Smile awake when you arise,  
> Sleep pretty darling do not cry,  
> And I will sing a lullaby."


	51. Getting Ready To Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki and your relationship:  
> 2012 ~ 2016??

 

Language was suddenly foreign to him; he didn’t understand. He didn’t want to understand. The only time he had felt his world crashing down around him was when he heard that Queen Frig— his mother, had died, and he was getting that feeling again; that empty, cold, and dizzying feeling. His heart had either stopped or was pounding so fast he couldn’t feel it.

“Please say something.” You whimpered.

He focused, “I cannot force you to do something against your wishes.” He said, running his fingers through his hair then looked at his hand— it was trembling. He quickly put it on his lap, “I would never force you to do or... or participate in anything you didn’t wish to.”

His mind was on autopilot as he was still in shock, but whatever he was saying seemed to work because you let out a small laugh and wiped your tears away, “Thank you. You have no idea how much weight is off my shoulders.” You sighed.

“Why do you say that?” He asked dreamily. He commanded himself to focus when you responded, “Downstairs, I... I felt like I had to reciprocate your feelings for me so you wouldn’t be upset.”

In other words, Loki realized, _I complied with you so you wouldn’t kill me_. And that made him sick to his stomach to know that he caused you to think that way. Loki swallowed thickly and nodded, “I’m not upset.”

“Can you look at me when you say that?” You asked.

Loki realized he had been staring at your pillow. He removed any form of a dejected look in his eyes as he looked at you, he gave you a fake smile and said, “I’m not upset.” No, Loki was beyond upset: he was devastated. He felt disgusted with himself and was feeling hot sparks of pain running up and down his chest, along with his arms.

“I’m glad.” You sniffled and smiled, putting your gentle hand on his. He felt warmth radiating from you. You pulled your hand away and Loki opened his mouth to say, ‘Don’t go’ or ‘Don’t leave me’. But he knew it was too late. He closed his mouth and swallowed. “I’m sorry. For every way I hurt you.” He finally said. His chest was feeling tight again and he forced away the thick feeling in his throat with another swallow.

“Thank you.” You sighed, “I’m going to ask Tony if he can let you out of that cell. Solitary confinement isn’t good, or healthy. I’ll try to bargain if you could start helping out the team again.”

Loki’s eyebrows scrunched together, “You don’t need to do that.” What would be the point? He wouldn’t be able to emotionally let you go, and without you, around those Avengers, he was in prison regardless.

“I know, but I want to.”

 _I can still see you around_ , he thought. A small silver lining. You could get used to him again. Maybe there was some hope after all. “Thank you.” He said quietly, bowing his head, then getting up and off of the bed. “And thank you for telling me how you feel.” Loki went on, “I appreciate your honesty.” He leaned down and chanced lifting his hand up to hold your chin, and when you didn’t flinch, he continued to hold you in his gentle grasp, stroking your cheek with his thumb. He savored the feeling of your skin, the warmth of you, and your eyes. Your eyes were one of his favorite things about you. He wanted to touch you more, feel you more, kiss you one last time, kiss you so fiercely that you were left panting in his arms.

He wanted to do things to you, pin you to the bed and make love to you. He needed to hear what you would sound like, how you would leave the stinging scratch marks on his back. He wanted a future for the two of you, but he couldn’t do any of that. He ruined everything.

“I think it’s best for me to retire to my cell.” Loki said, “I thank you for sharing your room with me.”

You got up as well and escorted him back back downstairs, now you were sure you could sleep easy.

 

 

You woke up later in the early afternoon, relieved everything you had wanted to tell Loki was off your chest. You were a little surprised that he was so calm about it; that would make things easier for the two of you, while you were still living at Avengers H.Q. That’s what you were on your way to tell Tony about: your conversation with Loki, and how you felt it best to move out.

You entered the living area and saw no one was around. You turned in a full circle, and that’s when you saw everyone was standing outside by the crashed Milano. You crossed the room and pushed open the sliding glass door and walked across the lawn, gasping as the wreckage started floating back into the air and rejoining.

You rushed to your group, staring up at the ship as it flew higher and higher, and you saw it was Strange doing this, putting it back together, the pieces finding their proper place. Rocket sat atop Groot’s shoulder and they were cheering and laughing, along with Peter, who soon joined in. You watched as Peter walked over to Rocket, said a few things, and then climbed off of Groot and onto Peter. The two of them suddenly blasted off into the air, flying up and into the ship, which remained hovering due to Strange.

“What are they doing?” You asked Gamora, walking to her.

“They’re going to disable the detonator, hopefully.” She said, keeping her gaze locked on the ship. A few minutes later the window of the cockpit opened and Rocket waved, a large metallic square in his hands. Doctor Strange lowered his arms, releasing the Milano and letting it fly with Peter and Rocket’s command. They brought it down to the ground, big gusts of wind rustling everybody’s clothes. It touched down and Drax, Groot, and Gamora started walking to it, and the large ramp opened. The Avengers went to greet them.

“Thank you so much, man.” Peter said, shaking hands with Doctor Strange.

“It’s not every day that I help repair alien ships.” Strange smirked.

“So this is where we head off.” Rocket said.

You got a twinge of sadness; they helped you a lot, made you laugh. You were going to miss them. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Rocket.” You said, crouching down so you would be eye level with him.

He crossed his arms, “You know just because I’m short, doesn’t mean you have to crouch down! It’s offensive. Groot is taller than all of you and he doesn’t crouch for any of you!”

“I am Groot.” Groot agreed.

You chuckled, scratching the fur on Rocket’s head, “Alright. I’ll remember that the next time we see you.” You stood up and gave Groot a hug, who wrapped his arms around you.

“I am Groot.” You smiled, pulling back, “I’ll miss you too.”

You turned around and saw everyone saying goodbyes. You made your way over to Drax, “Hey Drax, take care of yourself.”

“I shall.” Then he pulled you in a tight hug, knocking the wind out of you.

“Thanks.” You squeaked, patting his large arm, and he let go. Someone tapped you on the shoulder and you turned around: it was Peter. The two of you hugged.

“I’m gonna miss you guys. Thank you so much for everything” You said.

“No problem. Terrans gotta stick together. And we’ll be in touch, we’ve got Jarvis’ programming, you can call us from him.”

“Right.” You said, letting go of him. He gave you one last smile then found another person to say goodbye to.

You saw Gamora and gave her a handshake, “Thank you for helping us.”

“Of course, it’s been a pleasure.” She said.

“Make sure you take care of those boys.” You said, making her smile.

“Boys? They’re infants.” She chuckled.

Peter rounded his team up and said one last goodbye as a group and entered their ship, the ramp raising and closing as Groot finally entered. The engine started, creating a large breeze and the beautiful Milano rose up into the air, shining in the sun before taking off into the sky at an incredible speed, too fast for something that size.

“We should get going as well.” Wong said, and everyone turned to face him and the other Sorcerer.

“Yeah. We’ll be in touch.” Doctor Strange said to your uncle, who nodded enthusiastically.

Everyone waved and said their byes as that large, glowing sparkly portal opened again, and you got a glimpse of a type of antique or Victorian-style mansion on the other side before Strange and Wong stepped through. The portal’s sparks dropped uselessly to the ground.

You smiled, “Damn.”

“What?” Happy asked, turning to you.

“Makes you wonder how many more superheroes or Guardians or people with powers are out there, huh?” You explained.

“And we just don’t know them.” Steve added.

“But hopefully no more Earth attacks will make them come out, right?” Pepper asked as your large group walked back to Avengers H.Q.

“There’s gotta some in New York, right?” Tony thought.

“Maybe.” Bruce answered.

Throughout the day everyone talked about people with abilities similar or different to their own, theorizing if they lived on Earth or not. This then lead to ‘if you were to have any other ability and superhero name, what would it be?’ Which went on long into the night.

Conversations like those are what you’re going to miss the most.

The tv had been turned on to some thirty minute comedy which Thor, Bucky, Natasha, and Steve were watching religiously, but Sam was standing behind Bucky and was quietly braiding his and Thor’s hair together, holding back his laughter.

You sat on the edge of the kitchen table, looking at Tony, Clint, and Bruce, who had rummaged through the cabinets and found some and were eating Girl Scout cookies.

Happy was on the phone and Pepper was right beside him, writing things down. Happy waved over Rhodey and the man complied.

You were really going to miss this.

You cleared your throat, _better time than never_ , you thought. Everyone important was in this room.

“Hey, guys?” You called out. Since Tony, Clint, and Bruce were closest to you, you got their attention first.

Clint saw what Sam was doing, “Sam, what the hell—” at the sound of his name, he bolted to where you were as to be not caught in the act by his victims.

Clint laughed, realizing what would happen. He dusted the crumbs off of his face and laughed, “Thor, come here for a second.” You, Sam, and Clint watched as the Asgardian stood up and Bucky was painfully yanked up with a yell, clutching the back of his head.

You winced while Sam burst out laughing and had fallen to the floor, laughing and pointing at Bucky and Thor, who were trying to untangle their hair. Steve got up to help as Bucky was talking rapid-fire Russian, anger etched across his face.

“On a scale of one to ten, with one being incredibly stupid and ten being as smart as me,” Tony said, taking the Samoa cookie box and popping another cookie in his mouth as he walked around the table to watch Sam still rolling on the floor, “how smart do you think it is to piss off an assassin?”

Sam’s laughs slowed to a stop quite quickly, realizing what he had done.

“Before this gets any worse, can I make an announcement?” You asked, seeing that Bucky was itching to go after Sam.

Natasha turned around in the couch to face you.

“Go ahead, (Y/n).” Steve said, still focusing on getting the long blonde hair untangled from the black hair.

You nodded, “I’m retiring.”

Everyone looked at you in surprise, even Bucky was shocked out of his anger. Sam stood up, looking at you.

“Once I got my memories back, I realized that— when I got out of my coma— I lost what made me have the nerves of steel to go on missions. So,” you sighed, “I think it’s best for me to just retire. And along with that I’ll be moving out.”

“What?” Tony asked.

“Why?” Bucky asked, then winced when Steve pulled a strand of his hair too tight.

“I think I need some ‘me time’. I’m just overwhelmed with this whole thing,” you gestured to the room, “So I’ll be moving out.”

“For how long?” Natasha asked, getting up.

“I don’t know,” you replied honestly, “for a while. Maybe forever.”

Everyone was silent. No one knew what to say.

“I’ll still keep in touch, obviously. We’ll still hang out, I’ll come over. But this whole superhero thing... I want a break from it, see if I want to keep pursuing it.”

“But you—” Bucky tried taking more than a step forward when his hair jerked him back, still clinging onto Thor’s.

“I know, I wanted to go on missions before, but I didn’t realize how terrifying they were.” You said shamefully, looking at the smooth floor, “I’m not like you guys.”

“Of course you’re like us.” Rhodey said, abandoning Pepper and Happy and walking up to you, “You helped save friggin’ Asgard! The Norse home of Gods!”

You nodded, “But I don’t understand how I got enough courage to go up against the Chitauri and... and et cetera.” You said truthfully. You put your hand on your chest, “ _I_ think, personally, moving out for me would help get my courage back. I would be on my own. Here, you guys —no offense— coddle me. It’s sweet and all and I understand completely why you guys do it, but I’m twenty-four—”

“Twenty-five.” Tony corrected. Your news was heartbreaking, and he felt like he shouldn’t have eaten all those cookies.

“Twenty-five.” You repeated. Right. “I want to see what world I helped protect has to offer.”

You turned to your uncle, “What I said to Clint last night was that I’m not sure if I’m still in love with Loki. And that’s what I told Loki.”

This was more serious than anyone thought.

“But that doesn’t mean I don’t care for his well being.”

Tony groaned at the end of your sentence, reading the cookie box.

“I think you should take him out of his cell and—”

“And what, let him roam around?” Natasha asked. “No, just letting him have some more freedom and not solitary confinement.”

“(Y/n), that’s his punishment.” Tony explained.

“I know,” you looked back to your uncle, “but how long has he been in there? Seeing almost no one. A year, a year and a half?”

Tony was trying to say something, only stuttering to begin his sentence. You were right. You had him in the corner.

“And now with his magick back, you can study them. You’d studied science for your entire adult life, why would you miss out the chance to study magick?” Bruce looked at Tony. They were both clearly anticipating and excited at the thought of studying magick.

“I’m going to take that as a yes.” You smiled, getting off of the table, “But for today, I’m just gonna be in my room, try and get some more sleep.”

Bruce nodded, “Okay. Just remember that we’re here for you.”

 

 

You changed into your pajamas, wanting a bit more comfort, and started opening the boxes in your room. The tape had been ripped off, as is someone was going to start unpacking, but never got the chance to.

You took out some books, looking for your laptop. You found it in the next box you looked in, along with its charger. You walked back to and sat of your bed, plugging in the wire to the wall, and charged your laptop. You stretched out on your bed and powered on your computer, to your surprise it was at seventy-eight percent.

You typed in your password and your computer was unlocked. You smiled at your background picture; it was of the original team a few days after you had joined the Avengers, all doing a ‘Charlie’s Angels’ pose. You opened up a tab for the internet and began looking for a house, or at least an apartment, to live.

 

 

Loki sat in his cell, running the things you had said in his head. Analyzing each word you said; you said that you cared for his well being because you were a good person. He believed that. You had said that you weren’t in love with him anymore.

He leaned back against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing his fist to his forehead. He swore over and over again, hating himself more than Odin hated him, more than anyone that ever met him that hated him.

He suddenly got up and kicked the chair to the other side of the room, the furniture breaking and flying apart when it hit the wall. He had destroyed something other than the chair; he destroyed something pure. He created never ending cycles of misery for you; from the moment you met him, he had cursed you, and now the curse had acted: the first time Asgard, and the second time in the ship with those Guardians. His cursed ruined you, and he paced the room, imagining how it would run down the course of your life, damning you and your children.

He stopped walking, glaring at the corner of the room. The thought of you having children with someone else, some _peasant_ unworthy of you, made his heart burst into flames with anger.

He could see it now; possibly due to his emotions conjuring an illusion, of how that dirt would take care of you more than Loki ever did. Loki swiped his hand angrily through the illusion of you and that other man kissing.

No one was to kiss you, comfort you, or bed you besides Loki himself. Your lips were his, your hands, eyes, skin, laughter, smile, and body belonged to him. No one was to take that away from him.

When you said that you weren’t sure if you were in love with him, he agreed.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are gonna come slower now, I'm at a point where I'm not sure where to take the plot further... I have a small idea, but not much. Just wanted to let you know that. And all of your comments and kudos are truly appreciated :) <3 <3 <3


	52. Settling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henlo there lovlies!! I recommend— if you want to know a little bit of my future plans for this fic— to go to the last chapter and look at my response to georgie (shoutout to georgie for being here, and loving this). <3 <3 <3 This chapter isn't much, just some settling, but the NEXT chapter is where things start again... 
> 
> (if you haven't seen Captain America: Civil War, from the mext chapter onward will contain spoilers) 
> 
> (P.s. if you didn't know, Civil War is on Netflix)

 

Several days passed and you went out to visit a few houses and apartments with Tony and Happy tagging along. “You know, I really liked that yellow house in Peekhill. Not too far from the base, it’s cozy.” Tony said, twirling his spaghetti around his fork.

The three of you were currently sitting in a booth in an Italian restaurant in Manhattan looking at some other apartments.

“That’s the one with the three floors and two full bathrooms?” Happy asked.

“Yeah, but do I really need three floors? I’m not moving in with a family.” You said, said, swirling your spaghetti.

“You might want to start one.” Happy suggested, drinking his water.

You shrugged, “But if I ever met someone they’d think I’m crazy for a family by already having a home big enough to fit everyone in.” You answered, referring to the Avengers in the last part of your sentence. You ate another forkful of spaghetti and sauce, swallowed it, then wiped your mouth, “I want to start out realistic. Just because we have a lot of money doesn’t mean I should get the biggest and grandest thing. If I meet someone, we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Tony and Happy nodded. When had this become a talk about your love-life? You decided not to bring anything else of that genre up.

“But why do you want to live in the city?” Tony asked, gently stabbing the meatball on his plate.

“I like it. All the bustle of people. New people every second. You can never get tired of it.”

The three of you finished your lunch and paid for it, then left. The first apartment was a few blocks away for the restaurant; it was a nice, two story apartment with three floor to ceiling windows and a sun roof. The downside: there wasn’t a supermarket within walking distance. Why pay the two seventy-five bus fare to get to the supermarket?

The second apartment was in Greenpoint, Williamsburg. The apartment was on the second floor and was one story. There were two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a living room, but no dining area. You looked around, the real estate agent said to take your time.

You wandered into the first livingroom, taking in the size as your heels clicked on the wood floor, echoing embarrassingly loud. You adjusted your blazer as you looked up at the high ceiling.

“Kinda small, in area size, don’chya think?” Tony asked you, opening the cabinets in the kitchen.

The real estate agent gave the square footage of the apartment. You knew Tony was a ‘go big or go home’ type of guy, but you were all for modest things, and this apartment was not too big, and not too small. You only hummed in response, looking out the large windows that overlooked Franklin street.

“The area’s nice, quiet, most of the time, but you know how Friday nights are.” The real estate agent said, watching the three of you as he stood next to the hallway closet near the entryway, “There’s a supermarket three blocks away, a McDonalds, and Starbucks in the area. There’s, of course, restaurants and bars, too.”

You entered the master bedroom, envisioning where you things would go. You were really feeling this one.

“Can the walls be repainted?” Happy asked, pressing the switch for the ceiling fan to turn on. The walls were a tan color, and you looked around the bedroom, imagining them a soft yellow or very pale pink. You heard the sound of rustling papers as you inspected the attached bathroom.

“Yes,” the agent said, “but if you make any holes in the walls, the landlord asks if you could patch them up.”

No mold. You tried the faucets; they came out clean. The huge bathtub took up most of the space, couldn’t put that down as either a pro or con. You left the room to inspect the other bathroom, passing Tony, who was opening and looking into the closet.

“What do you think of it so far?” Happy asked.

“I really like it.” You smiled excitedly, “I think this is the one.”

“Good, as long as you’re happy.”

You grinned. Happy realized how he phrased that, “No, no, no, don’t—” “But I thought _you_ were Happy, and I was (Y/n).” You laughed, turning in a circle to look at the room.

Happy let out a defeated sigh; you had dragged that joke out for as long as you knew Happy, and though he pretended to hate it, he secretly loved it.

You gave a look into the bathroom, it had a smaller tub than in the master bedroom, but it was just as good. You left the bathroom and went back to the kitchen, where the fridge and dishwasher sat nicely against the wall. You liked this apartment very much...

 

 

Loki sat on the metal barstool in the center of the lab, machines quietly whirring around him. By the clock on the wall it was almost two hours now that Tony had suddenly rushed out, leaving the prince to his own devices. Loki simply wandered around the room, looking and brushing his fingers against a machine, every now and then glancing out the glass observatory windows and into the hallway, hoping to see any glimpse of you, or at least your uncle. Only a few agents had walked by, their steps going quicker when they saw who exactly was in the lab. He heard the door open and he pulled his hand away from a metal box, turning quickly to see— Bruce Banner.

“So sorry. I just got news that you were here and Tony wasn’t.” He panted, clearly had been running from a distance.

Loki only nodded.

Bruce made his way to the station where Tony had been punching those buttons, and Loki resumed his seat in from of that metal testing table again. Bruce clicked away, looking at the data and notes around on his desk, “What was Tony having you doing before he left?” Bruce asked, lifting up several pieces of paper and leafing through them.

Loki sighed and lifted his hands to, yet again, make that illusion of the damned red snake appear slithering on the table top. “‘Non corporeal’ He had said.” Loki said dully.

Bruce came over from his station and watched the snake double back and wind around.

“I thought Tony was supposed to be ‘testing’ me.” Loki asked. Time to get some answers.

“He had a thing.” Bruce said.

“I wouldn’t want a drunk Stark poking me around with a spiked stick.” Loki said nonchalantly.

“He’s not drunk.” Bruce said, taking notes.

That rules one thing out.

“Can you see through the point of view of the snake?” Bruce asked, tapping the spot in front of the snake, it stopped and hissed at Bruce, who gave the smallest of smiles.

“No.” Loki answered, “Must be a long meeting. Must be very important to leave me like this here.”

“Not at a meeting, exactly.” Bruce said, going back to his station and tapping a few things into the computer, “He went apartment and house hunting, if that’s why you’re asking. But I won’t tell you anything else.”

Bruce wasn’t sure what terms you and Loki were on.

Loki nodded and the two of them continued; Loki performing whatever menial magickal feats Bruce requested. _Apartment and house hunting_? Loki wondered.

 

 

“Thank you guys so much, really.” You said for the umpteenth time, gushing with gratitude as the moving men set down the last box in the living room, right next to the couch you had purchased a few days ago.

The moving men accepted your thanks and you offered them bottled water from your fridge as they were leaving. You said goodbye and shut the door after them with a sigh, then looked around your apartment, resuming you phone call with your uncle. “Yeah, they just left.” You said.

“That’s good. Are you sure you don’t want me to come over and help unpack?”

You shook your head; boxes were stacked in each area of each room. “No. Really, but thank you though.” You said.

“Okay. So I’ll talk to you soon.” Tony sighed.

“Of course. And Tony?” You said, suddenly remembering, “Can you let Loki know that I moved out?” You didn’t want to tell Loki in person, you didn’t want to see him mad or sad.

“Sure.” He said, and you smiled.

The two of you said goodbyes and hung up the phone. You decided to tackle unpacking the kitchen items first. It was a month since you saw this apartment in Greenpoint, and you convinced Tony that it was a good place, even though he kept bringing up the hour and a half commute from the Avengers H.Q.

You designated a cabinet space for pots and pans, cups, plates, and bowls, and in the drawer under the stove you placed baking trays. Less than an hour later you were completely done unpacking in the kitchen, and you decided to take a break, getting a water bottle and sitting on the couch, you twisted off the cap off and taking a gulp.

You looked around the living room and master bedroom. You insisted to your uncle that you wanted to unpack by yourself, giving you a chance to make your home yours. You stood up and went to the window, pushing aside the curtains; the view you had was facing west towards the city, and you could see the slow deconstruction of Stark Towers.

He never told you why everyone decided to move out.

You decided to head into your bedroom and start unpacking. It was going to be a long day.

 

 

Loki hadn’t seen you since you said things were over between the two of you. He wasn’t needed much outside of the lab where Tony and Bruce continued to observe his powers, but he had seen almost everyone else.

Were you avoiding him? Loki didn’t know what to think.

He danced his finger in the air, moving his knight chess piece in an L shape and capturing Steve’s rook. Tony and Bruce watched Loki closely, and he explained that he did a simple levitation spell.

“But you didn’t say anything.” Tony said, watching Steve move his pawn forward.

Loki sighed, turning in his seat to face the scientists, “When you’re first learning Asgardian magick you speak the words, but once you excel at it like my mother and I, you don’t need to.” He turned back to the chess-board and said the command in Old Norse and his bishop rose into the air and crossed diagonally over the board and landed.

“Could anyone learn it?” Steve asked.

Loki scoffed, “No. My mother tried to teach Thor when we were children, but he didn’t posses the gift of the Æsir, nor the Vanir. His terrible pronunciation didn’t help him, either.” Loki watched Steve’s turn, his mind wandering to you again.

“Æsir?” Steve asked.

“Our gods and goddesses. We draw power from them.” Loki explained. He could see in five moves how Steve could— and will be, checkmated.

He thought about you again. It was _his_  fault that you were feeling the way you were, it was _his_ fault that you were avoiding him. There was no one else to blame. Loki scoffed to himself, actually, there was, but no one believed him, of course.

No one knew of Thanos’ power like he and Gamora did, and until Thanos came knocking on the Avengers’ door asking for a fight, no one would believe him.

Steve was checkmated, and Loki was victorious! But no one cared. Loki didn’t care as Bruce approached the table and cleared the board, and Steve got up from his seat.

Loki had nothing. He had no freedom, no crown, no mother, and he didn’t have you. He was to sit and wait for Tony or Bruce’s beck and call to be tested and questioned upon for his magick, which was dreadfully boring, almost painfully so.

There _was_ one thing; one thing he had on the back of his mind, a plan to get him out and kill that giant.

Loki jumped out of his seat and everyone turned to him from the suddenness, and he shot out his arm, creating a life-size illusion of Thanos himself. Loki turned at looked at Bruce, Steve, and Tony, who were looking at the illusion of the purple giant in his armor Loki saw him frequently wearing.

“ _That_ is Thanos.” Loki barked, then pointed at the golden glove the illusion was wearing. Glowing orbs were placed in the main knuckles of the glove, and one placed on the back of the hand, the six stones shining brightly. “And that is the Infinity Gauntlet, which each stone he obtains he gets more powerful than you could ever imagine. If he gets them all he will be the strongest being in the universe, and you and the Guardians combined won’t be able to stop him. He will reign over the galaxies with terror falling upon each planet and realm, including this one. And if you want the world as you know it to did, along with you, you will listen to me _now_.” He said dangerously.

The three other men looked at each other. Right now they were in a room with a very powerful Asgardian, who recently obtained his powers; but pleasing him wasn’t the reason why Steve said, “You sound like you have a plan.”

“I do.” Loki said confidently, “With Gamora hating him as much as I do, I have no doubt that she would help get intel on him.”

“Let’s say you get all the information you need on him,” Tony asked, “what then?”

Loki bared his teeth, feeling his old self resurfacing, and he welcomed it, “I lead the man-hunt.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where the hell am I going with this plotline? I don't even know...


	53. We're Not Out of the Woods Yet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say a great big THANK YOU for 1,000 kudos!! You all are so great!! I really can't wrap my head around that a thousand people like/love this fic, that you all are following this! I really appreciate all of you and your comments!
> 
> Also, there are Civil War spoilers from this chapter onward.

 

 

You were living in your apartment now, fully situated. It was three months since you finished packing, and you hadn’t visited the Avengers as much as you thought you would. You spent time outside around your area, visiting the nearby park. You made it a regular habit, until someone finally recognized you and you had a dozen people chasing after you, either for autographs or for interviews. You never had such an overwhelming amount of people approach you at once, just because you were you. After diverting them by running down streets and ducking into restaurants and exiting through the back, you wished you had practiced your powers.

You were home now, panting in the kitchen as you poured yourself a cup of water.

Sooner or later you would get a text from Pepper, Tony, or Happy, or all three, having heard the news from some tv station, or twitter account.

But you should have tried your powers, you should have tried a long time ago, why didn’t you? You set down your empty glass, recalling how Loki quite literally knocked your powers out of you.

You walked around the counter-top island and into the center of your living room, looking around. There were a few things that could fall and break, but you weren’t necessarily worried. Why haven’t you tested your powers before?

Because you were afraid.

You let out a slow breath as you lifted your hands, steadying them in the air. You were afraid after what Loki had done to you, how your powers failed you when you needed them most, that they would never return to you. You closed your eyes, trying to feel that feeling, searching out that cool darkness that you hoped lay dormant in you. You were feeling something, or maybe it was the draft coming from the window, but maybe not, as you were starting to feel queasy. You were pushing something forward, you could feel a tug on your hands, the familiar weight of your Darkness.

You staggered forward as the dizzyness and vertigo grew too strong, and you open your eyes, running to the bathroom and promptly vomiting in the toilet.

Harnessing your powers was going to take a while.

 

 

Weeks passed and you were getting used to vomiting after testing your powers, pushing yourself further than the last time you had practiced. You saw on the news about flying robots in the city, and over the course of a few days, every news channel was broadcasting that the whole city of Sokovia was being lifted into the air, and the Avengers were helping to stop everything.

You felt shame fill inside you; while your friends were risking their lives for a villain you weren’t made known of, you were going out for a night on the town with a few new friends you had made. You spent the entire night with a guilty feeling settling further and deeper inside you. That did explain why Tony and the others hadn’t contacted you: you were a liability, and he didn’t want to bring that mess to you.

 

 

You had a life.

You worked from nine a.m. to five p.m., with a break from twelve to one o’clock, at a history museum, but as soon as you went in physically to apply the job, the curators moved you from being the tour guided in the Prehistoric Era, to the History of Science, seeing that you were Tony Stark’s niece, finding it only fitting to explain things in that category. On your first few weeks you carried around a binder while you guided people through the museum; your binder holding your script and lists of facts for each person who made a mark on the scientific community.

You were pleased to hear that ever since you started working the tour groups ( _your_ tour groups) had been larger than any previous museum guide. You saw the same kids up to three times a week, with them gushing and asking questions, and you were happy to inspire people.

People young and old did go off topic sometimes, (especially when you got to your uncle’s section of his scientific contributes) asking what it’s like to be related to Tony Stark, what it was like to be an Avenger, and questions of the sort. You didn’t mind when parents asked if they could take a picture of you and their child, and you felt this immense joy when you saw the children’s face light up when you agreed. The children were fascinated with your metal arm.

Another time you gave them joy was when the tour was over, you gave each child a sticker from the roll the museum had given you that said ‘Future Scientist!’ And then pulled out a different roll you had bought yourself, a sticker of Iron Man’s helmet, which made the kids sequel in excitement.

You went home almost everyday feeling a mixture of exhaustion and a little hop in your step, proud of yourself for making some people happy. And apparently, you had unwittingly made someone else happy, too.

Malek was guide for the Ocean and Sea Life portion of the museum, and the two of your paths crossed whenever you had to go down the hall, passing where he would always be, by the Giant Squid Discovery. The two of you would briefly wave before you and your group continued. The two of you worked the same hours, which meant you both had the breaks at the same time.

It was your second week that you worked at the museum that he asked you out.

You were surprised, you didn’t know that he liked you _that_ way. You kindly explained that you weren’t ready for a relationship, and Malek understood. You told him vaguely about Loki, and that you weren’t entirely sure about going into a relationship.

 

 

A few weeks passed and you accepted Malek’s invitation to date. He took you on dates in the park, and another time when the two of you went to the movies, he had managed to sneak in a hot slice of pizza into the theater for you. The two of you had been seeing each other for a month before Malek’s wife showed up on your tour, slapping you harshly across the face. You would have been able to block it, but it had been so unexpected. She cursed you out, telling you that she and Malek had a child, and for you to screw off and do someone else, you whore. She said this right in front of everyone on your tour, including the children, who had retreated to their parents during the outburst. She didn’t want to hear your ‘excuses’ of how you didn’t know that Malek had a family.

Luckily for you two security guards rushed down and pulled her away from you, going to the office as she cursed and screamed at you, her words echoing down the halls.

Another tour guide, Jackie, came up and put her hand on your shoulder, saying that you could go home if you wanted to. You politely declined, ignoring your stinging cheek. You went on with the rest of the tour, the group of people staying quiet. Your day ended, and you continued the circle of violence by slapping Malek when you saw him, and told him that the two of you were done. He quit a few days later.

 

 

You celebrated Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Years, spending the holidays and birthdays with either the Avengers, or your friends.

It was a full year after Sokovia touched back down to earth, and it was spring again when Tony finally visited you in your apartment, giving the run down of what happened. You knew he blamed himself for Ultron, you could hear it in his voice. You rubbed his back as he explained all the terrible things that had happened, but not once did he say ‘You should have helped us’.

You tried to lift his spirits by offering him some leftover pizza from last night and he agreed, cold, but didn’t seen any happier once he started eating.

His sadness, you found out, stemmed from the fact a boy no older than you, a boy named Peitro Maximoff, had been killed. He had super speed, Tony explained, and a twin sister, Wanda, whom they recruited to be an Avenger. He also told you about Vision.

He told you about Wanda’s powers, and you felt a pang of irrational jealousy. You could do everything she could do, except control minds. At that you told Tony that you’ve been working on your powers, and you stood up to prove it, swirling Darkness around your hands before grabbing it and turning it into a staff, a sword, then a dagger, before waving your hands and melting it into nothingness. Tony hugged you, proud.

You explained that you weren’t able to open a portal yet, or create illusions. You asked how everyone was, and Tony told you the facts, and he told you that Thor and Bruce disappeared after saving Sokovia.

Thor, you can imagine, just went back to Asgard, having to deal with more princely duties, like when he had returned Loki after his failed attempt of taking over the world.

But Bruce... maybe he decided to retire, too. Maybe the Hulk was too much for him. You suggested that to him, and Tony only shrugged. He then told you of Loki’s plan for attacking Thanos, and your heart did a little jump when you heard his name (from fear or affection, you weren’t sure).

You nodded quickly, not wanting to stay on the topic of Loki for longer. You still weren’t sure how you felt of him, but you knew this time away was doing you good. You didn’t think of him too much or too often, but when you did, you felt something. Something you couldn’t quite describe. The closest feeling you could think of, is when you have a certain dream with these imaginary people, and then you realized you had met them before in other dreams. Was it familiarity mixed with... longing to be back to before? Was it loneliness?

You and your uncle ate out at a nearby restaurant, talking a about non-important things like about a random concert going on in Forest Hills, and if you planned on going.

You laughed, saying that you had to work on the same weekend the concert was going to be. Tony then asked you how working at the museum was, and you smiled. You gushed how all the kids (and some teenagers) were so excited to see you or hear about your uncle or working with the Avengers, and that the ones you regularly saw were really interested in science, but meeting you was a plus.

You and your uncle parted after dinner with a kiss on the cheek, and you walked home, feeling something about Loki again.

 

 

Tony visited almost two weeks later as spring officially began. You answered the door and invited him when your phone started to ring. You gave your uncle a brief kiss as you checked it, seeing your friend Lora was calling, and you answered.

“Hey, Lora.” You internally cursed at yourself for sounding upset. You had woken up from a bad dream earlier, and you couldn’t seem to shake it.

“Hey, you okay, (Y/n)?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

You glanced at your uncle, “What’s up?”

“Well, Mandy, Sharon, and I were thinking about bowling tonight.” You internally sighed.

Whenever Mandy, Sharon, and Lora got together the almost always brought their boyfriends and one girlfriend.

“What?” Tony asked.

You rolled your eyes, “I don’t know, I think I have plans—”

“But we already invited Sharon’s cousin. The one that’s CEO of Whole Foods. We thought we all could have a quadruple date.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose. Since when did you have a for sale sign pointed at you?

“I don’t know...” You said slowly.

“Pleeeease?” Lora whined over the phone.

“Maybe—”

“(Y/n), Bucky’s missing.” Tony interrupted.

You shut your mouth, slowly turning to your uncle. He was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking at you with a serious gaze.

“Lora, something’s come up, thank you for the invitation, but I can’t.”

And then you hung up. Bucky was missing?

“Tell me what happened.”

Tony explained how for the past few weeks Bucky had been asking for information on Hydra, and then three days ago he had vanished.

“This isn’t an excuse for you to rejoin. Bucky had told Steve how the two of you had grown close, and Capsicle wanted me to see if you could help. If you don’t want to, we understand.” Tony said.

You nodded slowly; Bucky had helped you in many ways, and now he could be in danger if he sought Hydra out.

You nodded more confidently and said, “Okay. Let me pack a few things.” You walked into your bedroom and opened your closet and pulled out a suitcase, tossing in a few clothes, then finally on a whim, your uniform S.H.I.E.L.D. had given you years ago.

You had sewn up the sleeveless side so there wouldn’t be a frayed edge, and you felt like you had done a good job. You closed your suitcase and zipped it up, meeting back with your uncle in the hallway. You grabbed your keys from the kitchen drawer, locked your front door, and left your apartment.

 

 

You arrived at Avengers H.Q. during the night, but you could see all the lights were on on the other side of the building, a side you had never visited.

“Have you tried using that machine Jane gave us to find Loki?” You asked, watching Tony pull out a card from his wallet and swiping it to gain access to the part of the building where agents milled around and gave orders, or sat on a computer. A few people turned their heads to look at you quickly, then resumed their work.

“Yeah, but he’s covering his tracks pretty damn good.” Tony told you, going up a flight of open stairs and a platform where the Avengers were standing around a table.

Files lay open and scattered.

They were copies of the information Bucky had been looking for.

“Or someone is covering his tracks for him.” You nodded, then looked at everyone.

The two new people you assumed were Wanda and Vision.

“(Y/n), this is Wanda.” Tony gestured to the girl with brown hair and wearing a red leather jacket and black dress.

“Hello.” She had a thick Russian accent. You nodded a hello with a smile.

Your uncle touched your shoulder, and you looked to where he was pointing, “And this is Vision.”

The man had maroon skin with blue and yellow lines running along the contours of your face. “Hello.” He said, and he sounded exactly like—

“Jarvis?” You asked.

He gave you a polite smile, “I was, yes.”

You gave a small nod, setting your bag on the floor under the table. “So then,” you stood up straight, “Jarvis isn’t in the programming?”

“Correct.” Vision said, still smiling.

You would have to get used to him. You pulled a file to yourself, scanning the pictures and intel,

“Do you know anywhere he would have gone?” You asked, looking up at Steve.

He nodded, “Sam and I scoped out the barn where I found him, checked the safe-house where he had stayed,” Steve let out a sigh, looking at the Hydra papers, “I even went back to where we used to live.”

You looked around for Bruce, then recalled that he was gone, too. “Nothing on cameras anywhere?”

 

 

_Flashback..._

 

 

_1991_

 

 

_The Winter Soldier was brought out of his sleep and immediately brought to the station, the Hydra agents strapping him down in the chair tightly._

_Colonel Karpov started the machine, wiping any possible memories that may have resurfaced._

_The Winter Soldier started screaming in pain as the machine started scrubbing his brain clean, leaving nothing except the training he had, his hands in tight fists as he tried to free himself._

_After a minute, a scientist turned of the machine, and the Winter Soldier was left panting. Karpov held a red book in his hands and read from it in his native Russian, “Longing. Rusted. Seventeen. Daybreak. Furnace. Nine. Benign. Homecoming. One. Freight car.”_

_Hearing these words, the Winter Soldier calmed down, his mind going back to what he knew._

_To what he was taught._

_Karpov stood in front of the assassin, closed the book and set it on a nearby table, “Good morning, soldier.”_

_“Ready to comply.” The Winter Soldier said._

_From that same table, Karpov took a thick file in his hand, holding it out to the Winter Soldier, “I have a mission for you. Sanction and extract. No witnesses.”_

 

 

_S_ _everal hours later the Winter Soldier drove out of his hiding spot on his motorcycle, following the car down the dark road. He drove up alongside it and pulled out his gun, slamming the butt of it against the passenger-side window, startling the driver and making him to veer off the road and hit a tree, causing the engine to burst into flames._

_The assassin made a quick turn and went to where the car had crashed, parking his motorcycle and getting off._

_He walked up to the trunk with deadly silence, ripping it open, and saw his target. He opened the suitcase and saw five clear cases of blue liquid._

_Sanction and extract._

_No witnesses_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Cracks knuckles* So... who wants to be in a war?


	54. Lagos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't wait to post another chapter, so here it is! <3 <3

 

You sat next to Wanda, pretending to read a newspaper as she drank her coffee. You were assigned to work with her on this mission because her powers were similar to yours, and you could help train her.

Plus with Brock, a.k.a. ‘Crossbones’ being a possible Hydra ally or even a member, that could mean a lead to Bucky. So, here you were.

“Alright, what do you see?” Steve asked over the comms.

“Standard beat cops.” Wanda said, setting down her cup, “Small station. Quiet street.”

“There’s an ATM on the south corner, which means...?” You asked her, testing her observance.

“Cameras.” She responded.

“Right,” Steve said, “Both cross streets are one-way.”

“Compromised escape routes.” Wanda said, and you nodded.

“Means our guy doesn’t care about being seen. He isn’t afraid of making a mess on the way out. You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?”

You casually looked up and swiped your eyes over your surroundings, then looked back down at the newspaper, “The red one?”

“It’s bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us.” Natasha said over the communications.

You nodded.

“You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?” Wanda said with a point.

“Powers don’t necessarily help. Could cause a bigger problem. Unless you’re really good, you could leave yourself exposed, trust me.” You said, turning the page.

“I’m good.” Wanda said firmly.

“Knock it off.” Steve said.

You and Wanda weren't exactly... friendly. You helped her when she needed it, or when you were told to.

“Exactly. You need to have looking over your shoulder a second nature.” Natasha said.

“Anybody ever tell you you’re a little paranoid?” Sam chimed in.

He was on a rooftop somewhere, scouting out the area, just like Clint would have been doing.

“Not to my face. Why, did you hear something?” Nat said sarcastically, which made you chuckle.

“This is the best lead we’ve had on Rumlow in five months. I don’t want to lose him.” Steve said, getting everyone to refocus their attention.

You heard cars honking a few streets away, along with people clamoring. You and Natasha instinctively knew it was Brock Rumlow, or a distraction for you.

“Sam, you see that garbage truck? Tag it.” Steve said.

Sam directed a small robotic bird to follow the large vehicle, scanning the contents. “It’s loaded to maximum weight, and the driver's armed.” Sam announced.

“It’s a battering ram.” Natasha realized. You set down your newspaper and stretched your arms over your head.

It was gonna be go time soon.

“Go now.” Steve said.

“What?” Wanda asked, but you were already out of your seat and hauling her up.

“He’s not hitting the police.” Steve said.

You sprinted around the tables with Wanda following and darted out into the street, following the sound of the honking cars, and then the louder explosion. A bomb? You put your hands in front of you, trying hard to focus, but nothing happened; and time was paramount, if you could only open a portal. You jumped over a few crates that were fallen in the street, then made a left into the narrow sidewalk alley.

“This way.” You pointed to the street that made a gentle right, and the two of you saw large piles of cement and two trucks pulled up at the entrance. You pulled your right gun out of your hip holster, adrenaline fueling you. _Don’t overthink_ , you told yourself, _just do it and go on to the next thing_.

You ran across the street to enter the east side of the building, seeing line of soldiers with rifles that were shooting gas bombs into the third floor windows of the building, poisoning any of the inhabitants that weren’t wearing special masks. You noted the body armor they wore and took a deep breath, pulling the trigger, shooting for their necks. You advanced forward and shot a few more men and watched them fall.

“Body armor. Ar-15’s. Eight hostiles on the ground.” Steve said.

“Make that five." You said, shooting a soldier who was hiding behind the truck.

You saw Sam fly by on his robotic winged backpack and go up, disappearing over the roof. You took shelter behind the truck, analyzing the men’s movements.

You saw Wanda’s hands glowing and you turned to her, “What are you—”

she suddenly flew into the air. You cursed angrily, looking out from your hiding spot. Steve must have taken out the remaining man you saw. You ran across the cement lot, following Wanda in the sky.

“Making my way towards you guys.” You said, passing by a few camouflage designed trucks.

“Four.” You heard Sam say. You turned the corner, going to the back of the building. You saw Wanda and Sam walking towards the building, dead men lay strewn around. You tried not thinking about it.

“Rumlow’s on the third floor.”

You slowed as you fell in line next to the two of them, shooting a warning glance at Wanda. You were definitely going to have a talk with her. You glanced behind yourself, then looked to the right as you heard footsteps; raising your gun. You saw Steve emerge from behind a car, donned in his full Captain America uniform with his shield in hand.

“Wanda, just like we practiced.” He said, passing her.

“What about the gas?” She asked as she stopped walking.

“Get it out.” He ordered. Wanda nodded and red light swirled around her hands and Steve as he started to run. She lifted her arms in the air and Steve arced skyward, putting his shield in front of himself as he broke through the glass window.

You looked forward and walked quickly with Sam, positioning the two of you behind Wanda as she worked with her powers in removing the gas.

“Still not liking her, huh?” Sam asked with a smirk. The sudden sound of gunfire caused him to whip his metal wing in front of himself as you created a black shield of Darkness.

“Nope.” You said, listening to the dull thuds the bullets made when the squashed on your shield, mingling in the air with the high pitch _patink patink patink_ of the bullets hitting Sam’s wing.

You saw a large shadow cross over you and you looked up, seeing the gas in a large funnel, going safely into the sky. You focused on the shooters, waving your hands and creating a large mass of darkness to swiftly envelope them, you could feel the weight of them in your hands, feeling them jumble around and cause bruising impacts on each other.

“Rumlow has a biological weapon.” Steve said over the communication.

You nodded, “Copy.” And deemed the men very jumbled, you removed your darkness, letting them fall hard on the ground. You heard a faint explosion from the north-east side of the building, then a larger one on the north side, accompanied with the sound of glass shattering. There two more of the loud explosions and Sam took off; you trusted him enough to know what he was doing.

You quickly turned around to see Wanda and you nodded to the northern side of the building, “We gotta find Steve.”

And you broke out in a run while Wanda took to the air, going ahead of you.

“Sam,” Steve panted, “he’s in an AFV heading north.”

“Already got him.” He responded.

You scanned for enemies as you ran into the new section, and you saw Wanda helping Steve stand.

“Any word from Nat?” He asked you, practically ignoring Wanda’s helping hand, and you felt some joy at that.

“No.” You said, feeling more confident.

Steve put his hand to his ear, “Nat, you good?” There was a moment of silence before Natasha confirmed.

“I’ve got four, they're splitting up.” Sam said.

“Alright. Give us your coordinates.” You said, sprinting back to the entrance with Steve and Wanda. Sam gave you the numbers and the three of you burst into the chaotic street, looking for a vehicle.

“Goddamn it.” You barked, waving your hands in front of you, only a flicker of a blob appeared. No portal today.

“It’s fine.” Steve said, out of breath, then ran to an abandoned car. The two of you followed, with you getting in the passenger seat. Steve raced the car to the directions he was given, frequently using the horn. Once the street finally got too crowded, the three of you left the car, climbing over and around the stopped vehicles.

“I got the two on the left.” You heard Natasha say on the comms. You followed Steve to where the AFV was parked; no one was in it.

“They ditched their gear.” He said, and the three of you looked around the screaming people, looking for any of the men.

“(Y/n), Wanda, find the other two.” You nodded, and pulled your gun out, causing people to scream more and try to get away.

“I’ll look from above.” Wanda said, using her powers to fly. You ran into the crowd, pushing and dodging cars. _Men, men, where were they?_

“It’s a shell game now.” Steve said. _Yeah, you think?_ You thought, holding your gun firmly.

“One of them has the payload.” He said.

You stood on the tips of your toes, looking for them.

“I see them.” Wanda said, “They're straight ahead, (Y/n)—”

you head a loud boom behind you, following a crash and the breaking of wood behind you.

“Got it.” You said, you couldn't be distracted by what was going on behind you, then started pushing forward.

People were pushing each other and the men were getting lost in the crowd. You climbed on top of a car, playing leap frog to get to them quicker.

“This one doesn't have it.” Sam said.

You were almost caught up to the two men, when one spotted you, and they split up.

“Wanda you get the one on the right.” You said, jumping off of the car and running. You had your gun pointed at him, but there were too many people. You let a ragged sigh through your teeth, planning on tackling him. You jumped on top of a table and vaulted onto the man, grabbing him and the two of you fell to the ground, then quickly scrambled up.

You landed a punch in his throat and stomach, but be blocked the second one and swung his fist into your side, making you wince and suck in a breath.

“Nothing on this guy.” You heard Wanda say. The man kicked you in the knee and you fell, but you rolled in between his legs and kicked him over, getting up and punching him in the face, elbowed in the chest, then grabbed his short hair and banged his head into the ground.

You quickly slipped your hands into his many pockets, finding nothing. “This one's a dud.” You said, quickly getting up.

“Payload’s secure. Thanks, Sam.” Natasha panted over the comms. You let your head hang, a hand on your hip as the people around you forced themselves out of the area.

“Don’t thank me.” Sam said.

You started walking back to were you last saw Steve, putting your left hand protectively on the butt of your gun.

“I’m not thanking that thing.” Nat said.

You laughed, “Thank you, Redwing.” You said for her, wincing as you started feeling your side throb. People pushed past you, still running. Everything was done, no reason to panic. Unless...

“Shit.” You whispered, starting to run upstream of the people.

“Whoever can get to Steve first, do it!” You said on the comms. You ran into the street again and nearly got knocked over by a guy on a motorcycle, who started screaming at you. You did your leap frog method, trying to peer over the shop roofs to see what was going on. You saw to your left a big cloud of dust flew into the air. You vaulted off the car, onto a sidewalk table, and then onto the roof, which wobbled tremendously.

You saw Wanda fly by you from your side and you jumped across the roofs, preparing for one to cave in. You could see Steve holding Rumlow, who was on his knees, and they were talking.

You stopped and pulled out your gun, getting lined up with the side of Rumlow’s head. Just as you were preparing to pull the trigger, Steve flinched away and Rumlow exploded, but Wanda kept it contained. She lifted her arms to the air and the volitial ball sky rocketed.

“Wanda!” You screamed, trying to get to her, “Away from the buil—!”

She screamed and winced, loosing hold of her powers and the ball exploded, knocking out a chunk of the wall and going through the entire side of the building. You gasped, putting the back of your hand to your mouth. You knew that there wasn’t going to be any survivors.

You dropped from the wooden rooftop, approaching your teammates. You stared up at the building, four floors were on fire and black smoke was spewing out.

“Sam,” Steve said over the comms, panting, “we need... fire and rescue, on the south side of the building. We gotta get up there.”

You quickened your pace, passing Wanda, who was still in her spot, her hands on her face in horror. You followed Steve as he ripped open the door, helping release the people who were stuck in the lobby.

You tried opening up a portal, begging the universe to let you do it.

“Stairs.” Steve said, and you let the Darkness fade away as you ran up the stairs. You and Steve helped the fifth floor that got the most damage, and a few minutes later the fire department and emergency came up to where you were.

You tried asking the EMTs what you could do to help, but they only yelled at you and Steve, then went to help the victims.

Steve put his hand on your shoulder; it was almost as heavy as the guilt that was settling in your stomach.

“C’mon. We did as much as we could.” He said, gently tugging you back to the stairs.

“But I want to help.” You said, your voice cracking as you felt tears stinging your eyes.

“They won’t let us, if we try, they’ll be focusing on us and not on people who need it.” Steve said, but you already knew that. You could hear the people screaming, which sent shivers throughout you.

“Where are you guys?” Natasha asked.

“In the building.” Steve said, and the two of you went down the stairs, “Leaving now.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm going to have a little contest! I will be letting YOU (yeah you whomst's in love with Loki) choose whether the reader is Team Cap or Team Iron Man!
> 
> The rules are that I will be counting only people with accounts as one vote (I won't count guests as votes because people can spam and enter multiple times)
> 
> One point per vote.
> 
> And if you'd like to earn your team two votes, you can tweet to me @clevachloe on twitter with the link to this fic, a shoutout (optional)
> 
> So yeah, the fate of the reader is in your hands! <3 <3


	55. Law and Order

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well let's jump in m'kay?

 

You fished two apples from the fruit bowl in the kitchen area. You started eating one as you quietly moved about the floor, going to the elevator, but the motion behind the couch caught your eye, and you turned.

It was Vision and Loki— the latter had his back turned to you, but his hair was something you knew well. And as soon as you realized it was him, he turned around and the two of you locked eyes.

You hadn’t seem him in so long.

He got up and went around the couch to rush to you, with Vision following. You stared at him as he stopped no more than five feet from you, and you felt a stirring in your chest and lower stomach.

Butterflies.

“(Y/n).” He breathed, making the metaphorical insects flap their imaginary wings in your heart. _Breathe_ , you told yourself. “(Y/n)...” He said again, “Where did you go?” He sounded lost, and that hurt you.

“I-I moved out.” You said, glancing at Vision, who stood off to the side.

“You never told me.” He said.

You shook your head, “I told Tony to tell you.”

“He never told me.”

Anger flashed through you. “I’m sorry, really.” You said. It was a year since you saw him, and you imagine how terrible that felt to be on his end.

“Jarv– Vision, can we get some privacy?” You asked.

“I am required to stay with him at all times.”

You sighed. “I was gonna go up to my room, do you want to come?”

“Yes.” Loki said, you couldn’t deny the eagerness in his voice. The three of you walked to the elevator. You pushed the button and the doors opened, and the three of you got in. You hit the button to your floor.

“How are you?” You asked.

“I’m alright.” He said, his hand brushing yours as he stood closer. “Loki, if I knew Tony wouldn't have told you, I would have told you myself, but I was still... figuring things out.” You said.

He nodded, and the doors behind you opened, and your trio left, going into your room. You asked Vision to shut the door. “Do you want to sit on the bed?” You offered to Loki. He nodded and the two of you sat down. You glanced at Vision, who milled around your room. You set your apples on the night stand.

“How are you?” He asked, looking deep into your eyes. When you didn’t answer immediately, he hovered his hand over yours for a moment, drawing back slightly before gathering courage and placing his hand on yours. “You’re... not well?” He asked slowly.

You shook your head, “I came back from a mission a few days ago. My first mission since getting back here. It... it didn't go too well...” Then you explained to him what happened, spilling everything out.

When you mentioned Wanda, Loki nodded in recognition, saying he had met her before, and you felt another pang of jealousy.

You told him about Bucky and why you were back, and how Rumlow had that bomb vest. You realized that after you had said everything, the two of you were laid back on your bed and facing each other, your fingers just almost brushing against his. How you wished to run your hands through his dark hair, but you suddenly pushed the thought away.

“I know what it’s like to teach students.” He said, “It’s easy to say to have patience—” at that you scoffed with a smile, “but you know how you are.”

You nodded.

“I’m elated that you got your powers back, (Y/n).” He smiled.

The combination of his happy features and the way he said your name, plus the close proximity, made your face grow hot. But there was still something missing.

He suddenly lifted his hand and stroked your hair. “I’m sorry.” He said, drawing his hand back, but you caught it and held it, saying, ”It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

And his hand went back to your hair, curling it around his fingers.

What had you been doing?

Why didn’t you want this?

His tender touches were what you needed all along, and you hated yourself for denying this; for denying yourself happiness. But you felt that strangeness again. It felt... awkward, and a little sad.

“You should be getting back downstairs, Mr. Odinson.” You glanced at Vision, and Loki rolled over, looking at the robot-man as well.

“It’s Laufeyson.” Loki corrected, sitting up.

You touched his hand again, but there was that zing again. That must mean something.

“Have you heard from Thor?” You asked.

Loki scoffed, running a hand through his hair to fix it, “No. Why?”

“Apparently he’s been missing since last year, along with Bruce. And Bucky— wow does everyone go missing on this team?” You asked, your brain completely rerouting from a serious topic to a much more playful one. “I’m serious.” You counted on your fingers, “Me, you, Tony, Bucky.” You chuckled.

Loki smiled and stood up, “Will you come downstairs?”

You shook your head regretfully and stood, “Sorry. I just want some downtime.” You realized that the two of you were standing very close to each other, “It’s not you.” You said, looking up at him. _It was never you_ , you thought. He rested his hand on your arm and a thrilling zing went through his hand, coursing through your body.

“I want to relax after that mission. But I’ll promise I’ll see you soon.”

“Alright.” He breathed. His hand trailed down your arm, slowly.

“Can we talk soon?” He asked. You nodded, looking over his form. A small knot of anxiousness dropped inside of you. Loki hadn’t seen you in a year, why would he need to talk with you?

“Loki, we really should be going. Mr. Stark is bringing a guest and I’m quite—”

“Alright.” Loki snapped, then looked back to you. He was stealing moments with you now, and he didn’t care about the consequences.

“I’ll see you soon.” You said quietly.

He nodded, and you stood on your tippy toes to hug him. He rested his chin on your shoulder and you could feel his fingers pressing into your lower back. The two of you remained like that for a few seconds then pulled away and standing at your normal height.

Loki gave you one last cocky smirk and you rolled your eyes, watching Vision place a hand on the prince’s shoulder and phase through the door together.

You stared at the wooden rectangle for a moment then turned away, blushing hard and a matching smile on both yours and Loki’s face.

You pulled your phone from your pocket and laid down on the floor, finding your earbuds in the nightstand drawer, attaching if to the hole at the bottom of your phone.

You sighed lovingly, the butterflies still tickling inside you as grabbed your blanket pulled from your bed and wrapped around you. You found it comfortable laying on the floor, the hardness easing some joints.

You had added some music Peter Quill, a.k.a. Starlord had listen to onto your playlist. Ironically, the first one that played was the exact opposite of what you were starting to feel.

 

 

_I’m not in love_   
_So don’t forget it_   
_It’s just a silly phase I’m going through_

 

 

As the song was coming to an end, you felt a nudge on your leg and you quickly sat up, pulling out your earbuds.

It was Tony. “Hey.” He said.

You pulled your other earbud out, “Hey. How was your seminar?” You asked as he sat down next to you. He scratched the back of his head with a sigh, “It went... okay. The kids loved it. Aaand why are we on the floor?” He asked.

“The bed is too soft.” You said. He nodded, understanding as he had been through that.

“The mission didn’t go well, Tony.” You said quietly, putting your head in your hands. Any feeling of happiness was replaced by dread.

You grumbled in your throat.

You really didn’t want to blame Wanda. You understood that she couldn't control her powers too much, and couldn’t withstand too much pressure that came with it, but... but you knew what when you were asked to join, your powers were reined in.

“Steve told me what happened at that building.” He said.

“And about Wanda?” You asked hesitantly. He nodded.

You rubbed your eyes and sighed, “She’s not learning fast enough. I’m gonna talk with her about that later when I train her.”

Tony nodded, “Let’s go to the common area. Steve wanted to talk with me. And I brought someone over.” He said, taking your hand and pulling you up with him.

 

 

Steve turned off the TV in Wanda's room.

“It’s my fault.” She said, lowering her head.

“That’s not true.” Steve said, crossing his arms.

Wanda sighed, “Turn the TV back on. They were being very specific.”

Steve entered her room, “I should’ve shut down that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it.” He said, sitting on her bed next to her, “Rumlow said ‘Bucky’ and I was that sixteen year old kid from Brooklyn again. And people died. And it’s on me.”

“It’s on both of us.” Steve shook his head, “This job... we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn’t mean everybody. But if we can’t find a way to live with that... then next time... maybe nobody gets saved.”

Wanda gave a small nod, sort of understanding, and let the silence weigh in.

A long moment passed before she spoke up again, “(Y/n) doesn’t like me very much.” She said.

“(Y/n) is having a rough time getting back into all this," Steve explained, “she retired a year ago but came back to help find Bucky... She’s getting a lot more on her plate than what she expected; training you, going on missions. She thought she was going to help with the technical stuff, not go on missions.”

Wanda mouthed a silent ‘oh’.

They heard a woosh and turned, jumping slightly at the sight of Vision.

“Vis, we talked about this.” Wanda said.

“Yes, but the door was open so I assumed that...” He pointed to the door, then lowered his arm, “Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving.”

Steve nodded, “Thank you, we'll be right down.”

Vision nodded, “I’ll use the door.” He crossed the room then stopped at the doorframe and turned back to face Steve and Wanda, “Oh, and he’s brought a guest.”

“Do we know who it is?” Steve asked.

“The Secretary of State.”

 

 

You sat at the long wooden table in one of the many conference rooms in the H.Q..

Secretary Ross was pacing at the front of the table, “Five years ago I had a heart attack mid swing,” he put his hands together over his shoulder as if he were playing golf, “and dropped right in the middle of my backswing.” He lowered his arms to the table and chuckled, “Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass... I found something forty years in the army had never taught me: perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unplayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives... but while many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the word ’vigilantes’.”

“What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?” Natasha asked.

Your insides squirmed; you knew how Natasha asked, but she shouldn’t be acting like _that_ right _now_.

“How about ‘dangerous’?”

You agreed.

Everyone in this room had the abilities to kill the other.

“What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose— and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?”

“We tried to help.” You snapped defensively, “They wouldn’t let us.”

“Because they are worried that you’ll make more of a mess than you already have.” Ross said.

He stepped to the side and the glass TV projected a map of the city. “New York.” Home footage of the Battle of New York played; people running and screaming, buses were on fire, soldiers shooting, there was a shot of the sky as pieces of a building crumbled and fell onto the camera, ultimately killing the camera holder. You rested your hand on the table. Rhodey slowly turned in his seat to look at you, then to Natasha and Steve, the latter avoiding his gaze.

“Washington, D.C.” Ross said. Now there was new footage that you never saw before, since you were in your coma. A building was on fire, and the next shot showed a large, burning helicarrier crashing into the man-made lake, the water splashing hundreds of feet high and surging down the street, washing over the people and camera. You scratched the back of your neck and curled your toes, trying to push away the dark thoughts of the dead.

“Sokovia.” You glanced at Wanda, then to the screen. The video showed the whole town lifting up into the air, then another shot of a charred building falling over onto another, throwing large amounts of dust and dirt into the streets.

“Lagos.” The video showed that burning building, the person who was recording must of been a few feet away from you. There was more footage the the emergency services bringing people on stretchers into an ambulance, things burning in the background as the camera moved. You could smell the smoke and burning plastic, along with the sickening smell of cooking meat.

“That’s enough.” Steve said. The videos stopped and turned off.

“For years you’ve operated with unlimited power and no supervision.” Secretary Ross said.

You nodded, looking at the table, understanding where he was going with this.

“That’s an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.” A man handed Secretary Ross a thick bind of paper and slid it to Wanda. You turned your head to try to read the cover.

“The Sokovia Accords.” Ross said, “Approved by a hundred and seventeen countries. It states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization.”

Wanda slid the book to Rhodey who looked at it as well, then to you and the others.

“Instead,” Ross continued, “they’ll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary.” Ross let that sink in, clasping his hands behind his back.

“The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel like we’ve done that.” Steve simply said.

“Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?” Ross asked. There was silence.

It was probably not the best time to mention that Loki was in the building as he spoke.

“If I misplaced a couple of thirty megaton nukes, you can bet there’d be consequences.” Secretary Ross walked back to the front of the table. Finding Thor and Bruce would have to be your next priority after Bucky.

“Compromise,” Ross went on, “Reassurance. That’s how the world works. Believe me,” he gestured to the Sokovia Accords, “this is the middle ground.”

Sam put his hand on the bind, “So, there are contingencies.”

“Three days from now, the U.N. meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords.”

You felt a cold rock fall in your chest.

“Talk it over.” Secretary Ross and his two agents began to leave the room.

“And if we come to a decision you don't like?” Natasha asked.

Ross stopped and turned to face all of you, “Then you retire.”

Natasha smirked with a small nod that said “As if.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... everyone has voted, and I will not take anymore votes! Thank you all for participating! A few of you have tweeted to me, and I tallied up those combined with the votes in the comments, and you will be......  
> .......  
> ...........  
> ...............  
> .................  
> ...............  
> ...........  
> .......
> 
> Team Cap!


	56. To Sign, or Not To Sign

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *breaths* boi

 

Cleveland

 

 

There was a crash and crunch of metal and Karpov, now old and retired, got up quietly and went to the shades, pulling a plastic blind down to see through the window. A young man had crashed into Karpov’s car, was scratching his head, then looked at the window. Karpov quickly released the blind, letting it pop back into place. He saw the shadow of the man walk up to the window.

“Hello?” He called out, and Karpov remained silent. “Is this your car out front? I jumped the curb. Maybe we can take care of it ourselves.” The shadow neared the front door.

Karpov spotted his gun on a stack of papers.

“If you wanna call the cops, that’s okay, too, I guess.”

“No.” Karpov said quickly, “No cops.”

“Thank you.” The man outside breathed.

Karpov went to the door and pulled the deadbolt away, then opened the door, and a fist met his face.

 

 

Baron Zemo spotted the Winter Soldier book, ignoring the struggling sounds Karpov made. He opened the file underneath the red book and saw it had all the information on Karpov. “You’ve kept your looks, Colonel. Congratulations.” Zemo looked at the man; he was tied upside-down in the sink, his head a few inches above the plugged drain, and Zemo had turned the sink on.

“Mission report December 16th, 1991.” Zemo said.

“Who are you?” Karpov asked, the water was rising up to his forehead. “My name is Zemo. I will repeat my question. Mission report, December 16th, 1991.

 

 

“Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have.” Rhodey said to Sam.

“So let’s say we agree to this thing, how long is it gonna be before they lojack us like a bunch on common criminals?”

You looked at Steve, who was reading the Accords, then to the two men arguing behind him.

“A hundred and seventeen countries want to sign this. A hundred and seventeen, Sam, and you’re like ‘No that’s cool, we got it.” Rhodey said.

“How long are you going to play both sides?” Sam asked.

“I have an equation.” Vision said. You looked over to him.

“Oh, this will clear it up.” Sam said sarcastically.

“In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. During the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.”

“Are you saying it’s our fault?” Steve asked calmly, looking up from the Accords.

“I’m saying there may be a causality.”

You nodded, “Us with our strength and power makes people want to challenge us.” You said.

Vision nodded, “Challenge incites conflict. And conflict breeds catastrophe. Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.”

“Boom.” Rhodey said, looking at Sam.

“Tony.” Nat said. Your uncle was laying on the lounge chair.

He lowered his hand from his eyes.

“You’re being uncharacteristically quiet and non hyper verbal.”

“It’s because he’s already made up his mind.” Steve said.

“Boy, you know me so well.” Tony sighed, he sat up and placed his hand on the back if his head, “Actually, I’m nursing an electromagnetic headache.” He stood and walked to the bar, grabbing a mug and putting it under the coffee maker and pressed a button. Hot coffee spewed into his cup, “That’s what’s going on, Cap. Just pain. Discomfort—”

he looked into the sink, “who’s putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?”

“Tony, this is serious.” You said.

“Oh, I know.” He said, going to the island and taking his phone out and laying it on the flat surface. It projected a picture of a smiling boy seemingly a few years younger than you.

“Oh, that’s Charles Spencer, by the way.” Tony said.

What did he have to do with the Accords?

“He’s a great kid,” Tony went on, “Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind the desk. See the world.” Tony had everyones attention, “Maybe be of service. Charlie didn’t want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn’t go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where. Sokovia.” He snapped, “He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. We don’t know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass.” Tony didn't look at you.

Ice and anxiety filled your veins.

Tony took a sip of his hot drink and set it back down, facing everyone, “There’s no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes, I'm game.”

You shook your head, “It’s not that simple.”

“Those are the options they’re giving us.” Tony said.

“But you just can’t say ‘If we screw up, throw us in jail.’ ”

Tony sighed, “If we can’t accept limitations, if we’re boundary-less, we’re no better than the bad guys.”

“Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up.”

“Who said we’re giving up?” Your uncle snapped.

“We are if we’re not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame.”

“I’m sorry, Steve.” Rhodey scoffed, “That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we’re talking about. It’s not the World Security Council. It’s not S.H.I.E.L.D., it’s not Hydra.”

“No, but it’s run by people with agendas, and agendas change.” Steve countered.

“That’s good. That’s why I’m here. When I realized what my weapons were capable in the wrong hands, I shut down and stopped manufacturing.”

You nodded, that was so long ago.

“Tony, you _chose_ to do that.” Steve gently explained, “if we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if the panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go? What if there’s somewhere we need to go and they don’t let us?” Steve had a point, “We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still out own.”

“If we don’t do this now, it’s gonna be done to us later.” Tony said, “That’s the fact. That won’t be pretty.”

“You’re saying they’ll come for me?” Wanda asked.

You looked at her incredulously, wondering how the fudge she got to that conclusion.

“We would protect you.” Vision said.

“Listen, right now you only have people saying things about you, no one is trying to get you. If you sign the papers, then screw up, _then_ people are gonna look for you.” You said.

“(Y/n), where do you stand on this?” Sam asked.

“I agree with both.” You said.

Sam scoffed, “You can’t.”

“But I do. During S.H.I.E.L.D., we had a ‘government’ watching over us. They sent us everywhere, right. The panel will send us places, but like Steve said, what if we need to be somewhere else?” You explained, “But if we’re not with the government, we’ll be seen as vigilantes.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re bad.” Steve said.

“I know. But the public has turned that into a negative word. If you’re not with the good-guys, but you’re not a bad guy, you’re a vigilante and can’t be trusted. Signing will make us _look_ good, get the peoples trust. Then maybe we can find a loophole—”

“Do you know how bad that would look?” Rhodey asked from across the table, “Everyone would think we infiltrated the government and used them. If then we left, _everyone_ will see us as bad guys.”

You opened your mouth for a counter, but you couldn’t articulate it. You closed your mouth and ignored the slight smug face Rhodey made.

“Well,” you suddenly said, pointing at him, “if you guys sign, you’ll be immediately put in jail.”

“How so?” He asked, looking at you like you were crazy.

“For harboring a very dangerous crimin—”

“That’s you and Tony!” He said, leaning on the table.

“Well you know about it! You didn’t report it.” You retorted, trying to keep your anger in check. It was Rhodey’s turn to be tongue tied.

“Maybe Tony’s right.” Nat spoke up, “If we had one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off...”

“Aren’t you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?” Sam asked her.

“I’m just reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes,” she looked over to you, “and we need to win their trust back.”

You nodded slowly. Why couldn’t there be a middle ground?

“I’m sorry, did I just mishear you... or did you agree with me?” Tony asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

“I want to take it back now.”

“No,” Tony said, waving a finger, “you can't retract it.”

The wooden table suddenly vibrated twice; a text, and Steve reached for his phone, looking at the screen.

“Okay, case closed. I win.” Tony said.

You looked over to Steve as he got out of his seat. “I have to go.” And he quickly left.

 

 

You knocked on the door gently, letting out a slow breath. “Loki, it’s me.” You said.

A few seconds later he was opening the door and guiding you into his room. It was smaller than yours, but he had privacy. He shut the door.

“Can I talk for minute before we actually talk?” You asked, following him and sitting in the chair across from the one he sat in.

“Of course.” He nodded.

You sat down in the chair, took a deep breath, then slowly began to explain the Accords. You explained at the moment there wasn’t too much tension between everyone, but you were nervous as what might happen if it escalates.

“If Tony and the others sign, they might want to turn you in.” You said, nervously rubbing your hands on your legs, “Or send you to Asgard. And I feel like you’ve served your punishment well, and you’ve been letting Tony see your powers.”

He nodded, weighing the options, as if he were to sign himself.

“What should I do?” You asked, “Sign? I agree with both...”

“It’s not up to me to tell you whether to sign or not.” Loki said, shifting in his seat to have his long legs spread _very_ wide, “We both have different opinions, morals, and see things differently. Only you could make your choice.”

You nodded, rolling your head back to rest on the back of the chair, “I wish this was easier.” You heard him hum, and you sighed, looking back at him.

He was a sight for sore eyes.

Sitting there, one elbow on the arm of the chair, and the other now running through his dark locks, you could see how royal he was. You could see him as a king. You swallowed, felling a blushing smile rise on your face.

“You wanted to talk?” You asked, the butterflies in your stomach were starting up again.

He nodded, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He cleared his throat, “I have missed you.” He began, “And I was thinking...”

You felt a warm feeling in your stomach.

“If we could spend more time together? If you wish it.”

You had never seen him so hesitant. He always said what he needed to, and whenever, but nervousness was not in his nature. You looked at him in surprise.

“And perhaps,” he added, rubbing his hands together nervously, “go a little further?”

You quickly tried to rein in your thoughts, trying to make a coherent response. Loki still loved you, he still wanted to be with you.

“Loki.” You breathed, “I’m flattered, really. You can tell. But...” you had it all sorted out in your head, but it was getting tangled as soon it reached your mouth.

“You don’t love me.” He stated, leaning back in his chair. His face was devoid of any emotion.

You shook your head, “That’s not it. It’s just because... because I haven’t seen you in a year. Tony never mentioned you, and I’ve been busy. I’ve forgotten how you are, that’s all. And plus with all this Accords business, I’ve got my head busy.” You explained, “But I would like to get back to a friendship first though. But that doesn’t mean we would have to stop there.”

His green eyes lit up and he was smiling.

“So we just need to spend more time together. Just as friends, expecting no more and no less. If we do go further, I wouldn’t mind.” You said with a smile.

Loki was grinning and was almost to the point of laughing with joy, “Alright. I can agree to those terms.” 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blehh, thanks for hanging in!! I honestly think this is a really boring chapter, but it had to happen to set things up, I hope you weren't too let down...


	57. Controversy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's start up this hot party, huh?

 

Your phone buzzing on the hard-wood bed-side table woke you up from your sleep. You huffed and rolled onto your stomach and grabbing the phone; it was Steve calling. You answered, “Hey Steve.”

“(Y/n).” He breathed, “Listen, I’ve got a really good lead. I think it’s Bucky this time.”

You sat up in bed, wiping the sleep from your eyes. “Where are you?” You asked, yawning. You looked at your clock, “It’s four A.M.”

“I’m in Vienna. I’ve already called Sam here.”

“Hey short stuff.” You heard Sam say.

You rolled your eyes. You put your head in your free hand, stifling another yawn, “Hey, Sam.”

“So do you think you can make it here?” Steve asked, “Vienna? Right now? Or before tomorrow?” There was a pause, “Please?” He asked, “I need all the help I can get. But if you can’t, I understand.”

You sighed, irritated, and pushed yourself out of your soft, warm bed, “Alright. I’ll take the quickest plane out there.”

“Thanks, (Y/n). We’ll see you soon.” He said gratefully.

You mumbled a sleepy ’you’re welcome’ then quickly added, “Oh, and I’ve decided not to sign the Accords.”

Steve said something of approval, “Did you tell Tony?”

You went to your closet and pulled out your suitcase, then dragged it back to your bed, “Not yet. I'll tell him soon.”

“Alright.” You packed up your clothes, casual, then a business suit, and your uniform. You sat on your bed with a sigh, and used your bare foot to shut the lid.

Wait, why were you packing?

You frowned at your suitcase, then remembered. Right. Vienna. Bucky. You huffed a sigh, running your hands over your face. God knows how you hated the early morning. You rolled over and opened the nightstand drawer, feeling around for the smooth keycard. When your hand closed around it, you stood and left your room and made a left, meaning to tell Loki.

You took the stairs down one floor and swiped the card trough the slot next to the door; it made a beeping sound, and you entered the hallway. Loki’s room was on the lab floor, so that meant normal agents on the other side of the building couldn’t get in without a card. His room was the closest to the elevator, so you walked to the end of the hall and knocked on his door, quietly announcing yourself. After ten seconds passed you knocked again. If he didn’t answer, he was asleep, and you weren’t going to distur— the door opened and you saw him standing there, tired and shirtless.

“(Y/n)—” he cleared his throat and leaned on the door, “is something wrong?” He looked down the hall.

“No, everything’s fine.” You said, waving your hands in front of you. God, how you wished to trace his chest and stomach.

“Would you like to come in?” You nodded, and he opened the door wide.

You crossed his room and sat on his bed, the blanket had been upturned when Loki got out.

“I’m going on a mission later.” You said as he sat down next to you.

“Where?”

“Vienna.” You said, but realized that basically meant nothing to him, “Across the ocean.” You clarified.

He nodded.

“I’m really hoping it can be quick, but I don’t think it will.” You looked at him, and your eyes dropped down to how his hair tumbled perfectly onto his strong shoulders, and how it contrasted with his pale skin.

“Do you want me to come?” He asked, placing his hand on top of yours and gently holding it.

You shook your head, “No. It would complicate things. I just wanted to let you know that. In case I was gone for a long time and you were...” you shrugged, “just wondering where I was.”

Loki nodded, his eyes roaming your figure. You were wearing an old t-shirt and long pajama pants, and you had bed-head, but Loki thought you were just as beautiful. He watched you purse your lips, and he asked hesitantly, “Are you here for something else?”

You swallowed, “I was wondering if you could give me advice?” Loki moved his hand to your back and started rubbing you there, which sent a good shiver through you.

“On?” He asked.

“Not...” you sighed, lowering your head in shame, “not being afraid.” Loki gazed at you as you went on. “I hate that ball of anxiety I get when things go bad, and I just wish I could be like the others.”

There was a pause before Loki answered, “It’s natural. It happens to everyone, and it means you care enough about wanting to do the absolute best.” With his other hand, he lightly grasped your chin and turned your head to face him. You laced your hands together, restraining yourself from rubbing your hands over his body.

“But you never get scared.” You said quietly, and Loki chuckled. His face broke into a grin, and he removed his hand, “I am the God of Mischief and Lies. Granted I usually am not afraid, but when it comes to you,” he spoke, cupping the side of your face with his hand, and you felt the coolness seeping from him, “when you’re in peril... I’m terrified. I know you can take care of yourself, but I honestly can’t help it.”

You wetted your lips. The way Loki was looking at you made you rub your thighs together, but you refrained from making such an obvious movement.

“So I just need to... rein it in?” Loki nodded, placing his other hand on the side of your face.

The two of you were burning in the darkness, feeding each other’s desires but not acting on them. He pulled you close and kissed your forehead, and all of your troubles melted away. He placed light kisses down your face to your cheek before pulling away and placing his fingers under your chin, tilting your head to look up at him.

“You’re so courageous, (Y/n). I know if you have a choice to make, you’ll make the right one.” He whispered.

You nodded, placing your hands over his and pulling them away from your face. You held his wrists in one hand as you traced your metal index finger across his broad back, and you saw the hair stand up on his arms as he suppressed a shiver. You leaned your forehead against his shoulder, and he pulled his hands out of your grasp to wrap his arms around you, tugging you close to his bare chest, letting out a deep sigh.

You ran your hand down his chest and along his arm; skin on skin. You placed a long kiss on his shoulder, then drew back and stood, his hands slid down to your waist. You looked at him, memorizing each line, every gentle and sudden sharp curve he had.

His face would be the only comfort you would have in the coming days.

“Thank you.” You whispered as you bowed your head, then slipped away from his grasp.

 

 

You couldn’t find a flight to Vienna early in the morning, but you booked the next one, which took off at 10:30 A.M., which gave you plenty of time to tell everyone that you weren’t going to sign the Accords. Rhodey tried to convince you, along with Tony and Vision, but you explained that you set your mind with it.

Tony said to forget it, and told you that he respected your decision. You thanked him, and told them you had a plane to catch.

 

 

VIENNA

 

 

You and Sam spotted Steve talking to a blonde woman by the elevator, and the two of you approached them. You assumed that woman was Sharon, the niece of Peggy, the love of Steve’s life.

“Steve,” Sam said, “You gotta see this.”

The now four of you crossed the lobby to the other side of the building to where the three of you shared a room. Sam had given you the run down of Peggy’s funeral in London, and introduced you to her niece, Sharon.

 

 

“... a bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the U.N. building in Vienna...” the news reporter on tv was saying.

Sharon was pacing behind you, talking on her phone to her supervisors, you supposed.

“More than seventy people have been injured. At least twelve are dead, including Wakanda’s King, T’Chaka.”

You gasped. That was bad. Very, very bad. There was camera footage of the news van, and a man in dark clothing crossed in front of it.

“Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier.”

You gasped even louder, moving closer to the tv. The video froze and zoomed in on his face. It was Bucky, no doubt. You looked to Steve, who was shocked, his eyes wide.

“The infamous Hydra agent—” “Enslaved agent.” You snapped at the screen. “—linked to numerous acts of terrorism...”

 

 

You changed out of your suit and into your street clothes, joining Steve to the burning U.N. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and called someone. From behind a large sign, you saw Natasha pick up her phone.

“You alright?” Steve asked. You couldn’t hear what Natasha was saying on his phone, due to the screaming of sirens. You looked around casually, checking if anyone was paying too much attention to you.

“Are you saying you’ll arrest me?” Steve asked calmly, and that made you turn your head back to him.

“If he’s gone this far, Nat, I should bring him in.”

Things were going to go south, is what you were getting from Steve’s side of the conversation.

How could Bucky do this? Was he a part of Hydra this entire time? Did he try to infiltrate the new team?

“Because I’m the least likely to die trying.” Steve said.

You couldn’t see his emotions behind his dark sunglasses.

And then he hung up. He nodded for you to follow him, and you did, crossing the park and heading to where Sam and Sharon were.

“The officials are gonna try to bring him in.” Steve explained, walking on the smooth, pebbled path the the bar and restaurant.

“That won’t go well, if Bucky is... back to what he was.” You said, and Steve nodded.

The two of you entered the restaurant, walking up to the bar and standing next to Sam, who was sitting on a stool and eating. Sam and Steve were wearing similar ‘disguises’; a single colored baseball cap and dark sunglasses. You lacked the sunglasses, and you had turned your baseball cap backwards. One of these things is not like the other.

“She try to tell you to stay out of it?" Sam asked, “She might have a point.”

Steve shook his head, “He’d do it for us.”

“1945, maybe. When we found him, how do we even know he wasn't faking? What if he was working with Hydra?” Sam asked.

You looked to Steve.

“I know him. I know how he was.”

“I just want to make sure we consider all our options.” Sam said defensively, poking his food with his fork. “People that end up shooting at you will probably end up shooting at us.” Sam explained, pointing his fork at himself, then you.

Sharon came up on your right side, “Tips have been coming in since that footage has been released.” She said, “Most of it's noise,” she slid a manilla envelope to you and Steve, “except for this.”

Steve opened it as she talked, “That’s all the head start you’re gonna get. My boss is having a briefing basically right now.”

Steve thanked her.

“You’re gonna have to hurry.” She explained and lowered her voice, “We have orders to shoot on sight.” And then she left.

This was only getting worse. You tapped the wooden bar, “Then we should get going.”

But time was running out. Zemo had the Winter Soldier book.

 

 

BUCHAREST

 

 

Bucky huffed, standing on the curb of the street. He looked around, and made eye contact with a man in a street vendor.

Bucky quickly looked away, gazing into traffic, but he still felt the man’s eyes on him.

Bucky chanced a glance, and he was right. The man in the vendor was slowly reaching behind himself, and Bucky crossed the street. At that, the man in the vendor excited quickly and ran in between shops. Bucky approached the small building and looked inside, then the magazine caught his eye.

He pulled it off the rack and looked at it, horror draining inside of him. It was written in Romanian, but he could read it just fine. It claimed that the Winter Soldier had placed the bomb in the van that blew up part of the U.N. in Vienna, killing T’Chaka, the King of Wakanda.

But... but that was impossible. That wasn’t him! Bucky shook his head, it wasn’t him.

It couldn’t.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all SOO much for your comments and kudos! I really love reading your reactions. <3 <3


	58. Gingerbread Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo sorry for the lack of updating! My summer is somewhat busy, so I haven't had time :// But thank you so much for your continued love and support with this fic, and I hope your summer is going amazing as well! <3 <3

 

You and Steve were suited up, quietly walking around the small apartment; it was here that the files said Bucky had been seen going to frequently. The windows were covered up with magazines. As you looked around, you noticed that there weren’t any personal items. Except...

You watched Steve as he retrieved a notebook from the top of the fridge, and you drew closer to read the contents. There were pictures pasted and notes written alongside them.

“ _Heads up you guys, German Special Forces approaching from the south._ ” Sam said over the communications.

“Got it.” You said.

A few cars honked loudly outside and the two of you turned to the window, then to the door, where Bucky was standing.

Steve closed the book. The three of you stared at each other.

“Do you know us?” You asked, holding back from going closer to him. If the news footage was true, he was very dangerous. The tingling of deja vu hit you.

“You’re Steve, and you’re (Y/n). He said.

“ _They’ve set the perimeter_.” Sam said.

“Bucky, what happened?” You asked.

Steve set down the notebook on the table, taking a step forward. His red, white, and blue uniform was the only colorful thing in the room. “I know you’re nervous, and you have plenty reasons to be.”

“I wasn’t in Vienna.” Bucky said firmly, his jaw set, “I don’t do that anymore.”

“ _They’re entering the building._ ” Sam said, urgency in his voice. You glanced to the door behind Bucky, then to the door behind yourself.

“Well, the people who think you did are coming here now.” Steve explained, “And they’re not planning on taking you alive.”

“ _They’re on the roof, I’m compromised_.” Sam said.

“Bucky.” You said, and he looked at you, “We need to go. Now.”

You heard the thudding of footsteps in the hallway. “This doesn’t need to end in a fight.”

“It always end in a fight.” He said.

“ _Five seconds._ ” Sam said.

That fight or flight mode was instilled in you, and you kept your gaze focused on the door in front of you.

Bucky pulled off his glove, flexing his metal hand.

“ _Three seconds_.” Sam announced.

One window suddenly broke open and a canister flew in, but Steve knocked back it out with his shield as another canister flew in from the other window. It landed at your feet and you kicked it to Steve, who dropped down and covered it with his shield; it shook as the bomb went off.

You heard men shouting in german outside the door and a loud thud as something heavy hit the door.

One more canister flew in from the window and you threw your hand up, creating darkness around it, and it went off inside the black shield, and you dropped it.

Another thud hit the door and you saw it bounce away from the wall. The next hit would surely bring it down.

Bucky whipped around and threw the table into the door, jamming it shut. The two remaining windows burst open as a soldier swung inside, raining glass everywhere. One aimed his gun at Bucky and you ducked down, yanking the rug from under him and he fell, a spray of bullets shooting at the ceiling. You heard another hard thud and you turned around, seeing Bucky throw the other soldier into the wall.

The back door burst open as a soldier entered, and Steve grabbed his gun, yanking it out of his hand, then Bucky rushed passed you and kicked the soldier in the stomach, causing him to go flying.

“Bucky! Stop!” Steve said, grabbing him.

The front door thudded again, and you turned around to check on it.

“You’re gonna kill someone.” You heard Steve say.

You scanned over the window and you heard a crash, turning back to see Steve on the floor and Bucky had his fist in the floorboards.

“I’m not going to kill anyone.” Bucky said, pulling a backpack out from the floor. He threw it out the door into the open sky, falling over the balcony.

Two more agents came in through the broken windows, aiming their guns for the three of you. You threw up a dark shield in front of you, then sent that energy rushing to them, slamming them against the wall and knocking them out cold. Steve jumped in front of you, blocking you with his shield and you heard more gunshots, then Steve was suddenly yanked away and Bucky threw him —shield first— at the attacker, falling out the window and onto the wrap-around balcony.

Another agent jumped in and Bucky advanced to him, grabbing him by the shoulder and smashing him into the wall, then let him stagger.

Just as you were about to summon more darkness, Bucky grabbed a cinderblock and tossed it into the man’s stomach, sending him flying.

“Bucky!” You shouted, grabbing his metal arm with yours. He whipped you around, over his shoulder and you were facing up at him from the ground, the wind knocked out of you, and your shoulder blades and back throbbed.

You heard three solid gunshots— a shotgun, and you rolled over and jumped to your feet, facing the front door. Bucky ran up to the door and punched the wall, his metal fist breaking through the wall easily. You followed him into the hall as two soldiers grabbed him. You punched one in the face as he kicked the other down the stairs, knocking over the others.

The skyline above you shattered as a man on a line entered, shooting at you. A few bullets grazed your arm and legs before you could create a black shield in front of you and Bucky.

Where the hell was Steve?

Bucky grabbed the man’s gun and swung him forcefully into the wall.

You dropped the dark shield and kicked a soldier in the face as he came up the stairs. He fell a few steps back and you jumped onto him, using your momentum to cause him and the the other soldiers to fall down the stairs.

You let out a gasp as you hit the wall on the landing hard. You saw Bucky use the unconscious man on the wire to swing down to the landing below you. You pulled yourself out of the pile of soldiers and jumped down to where he was, grabbing another soldier and knocking his gun away with a kick, slammed him into the wall, then tossed him down the stairs.

A quick movement out of the corner of your eye made you turn, and you saw Steve land next to you. You sent darkness to the men who were about to jump on Bucky, sending them flying down the the landing below, taking out the other soldiers that were there. Steve jumped to the side where Bucky was and caught a man Bucky had shoved over the railing.

“Steve!” You shouted. He looked up at you and you created a dark cushion below the soldier, and Steve let him drop. You caught him with your powers and threw him into the wall.

Bucky used the railing, ripped it off and used it as a rope, swinging down to the next landing.

You cursed, that stupid serum made them able to jump farther and punch harder, and you were starting to get tired.

You ran down the steps, jumping over bodies, glancing up to make sure no one was coming from above. You grabbed a soldier who was going for Steve and flipped him into the wall, before tossing him to the ground.

Steve threw his shield, bouncing off the helmet of a man, and he collapsed. Steve pulled his shield from the wall.

“He’s a machine.” You panted, looking at Bucky.

He then jumped down the stairwell, going down a few floors. You cursed in fear and amazement.

You and Steve took out several more soldiers, trying to meet Bucky on the same floor he was on. You saw Bucky kick open a side door. Steve and you rushed through the door and into the hallway and saw the balcony wall and open sky.

“No way he made that jump.” You breathed.

“He did.” Steve confirmed, leaning over the balcony.

“Who the hell is that guy?” You asked, watching Bucky fight a man in all black.

You heard more shouts behind you.

“C’mon.” Steve said, backing up to get a running start.

“I can’t make that jump!” You said. That was crazy! You would miss, or not land right. With the one arm that wasn't holding his shield, he wrapped it around you.

“I’ll let you go when we’re close to landing, and you go into a roll, got it?”

You nodded fearfully, gripping onto him. Steve took off his shield and gave it to you, you nodded and slipped it on your arm. It absorbed shock, you remembered.

The two of you started running, and when it came to the balcony, the two of you jumped, the wind blowing around you as you fell towards the roof of the other building. You felt Steve’s arm release you and you pulled yourself small, landing on your hands. The pain was brief as you rolled onto your back, the shield bracing you as you did a tumble, and you jumped up to your feet.

You wobbled as you quickly removed the shield and tossed it to your partner.

The nearest bucket you would find you would vomit.

You heard the heady thudding sound of a helicopter and heard a machine gun go off. You created a black shield behind you and covered Steve with one as well.

Bucky was on the ground and the man in the black, full body suit looked up as the hail of bullets rained on him, but didn't wound him.

What kind of armor did he have?

You looked up and saw Sam fly in and suddenly pull his wings in, falling feet first into the tail of the helicopter, knocking it sideways, then opened his wings again.

You looked back to Bucky and saw he kicked the man off, grabbed his bag, and jumped off the roof. You removed your shield and ran with Steve, following Bucky, and so did the man in the black suit. Steve jumped off of the building and you followed, landing on a balcony, then jumped from there to the ground, rolling then chasing them.

Jumping from buildings were easier when it wasn’t hundreds of feet below. You saw Bucky dodge the bullets from another helicopter, jumping into the highway below ground, tailed by you, Steve, and that man in the black suit.

You jumped down, creating two platforms out of darkness to land on before landing on the traffic jammed highway.

The honking was almost unbearable, and you scanned, looking for Steve. You saw him running along with the traffic, and you ran as well, a cramp in your side cutting into you and making every breath and step painful.

You knew matching his pace was impossible, especially in your wounded state, but as long as you had eyes on him, that was good. You ran in between cars, your reflexes ready in case one decided to swerve in your direction. Police cars and sirens on the other side of the road stopped and made u-turns, going up the wrong way to follow you. You caught up to a car and jumped onto the back, breaking the back window and shouting a sorry as you climbed onto the roof. You could hear the passengers screaming and started swerving the car, trying to swing you off.

At least now you were getting closer to Steve and Bucky. Up ahead the man in the black had the same idea as you, clinging onto the back of a swerving car. The wind whipped your hair out of your face, and you pulled yourself to the front of the car. There were more sirens now and you looked behind you, seeing three rows of them, along with vans. You cursed and slid yourself down the windshield of the car and jumped onto one further ahead, punching your metal hand into the back of the vehicle to hold on.

The car Steve was driving knocked into a police car, then switched to the right. You saw Bucky go onto the left side of the highway, onto the road that had traffic going the opposite way, and you saw Steve’s car crash through the barrier in pursuit. You waited for the car you were on to get to the spot and you jumped off, running.

You watched Bucky steal a motorcycle by pushing the man off, flipping it through the air, and continued to go against flow of traffic before switching back onto the correct lane. “Sam, I could use a ride!” You said, running with the traffic; you couldn’t really take much more, and you were pushing past your limits.

“Coming to you.”

You stopped running and three police cars pulled around you. You raised your arms in the air, taking in deep breaths.

“I see you.” Sam said. Several soldiers came out of their cars and point guns at you.

Before a single one could say anything, Sam swooped down and wrapped his arms around your middle, flying off and following Steve and Bucky.

“Thanks.” You breathed, grateful that you didn't have to be running the distance Sam's wings and backpack were flying you.

Up ahead, you saw Bucky’s motorcycle dip dangerously low to the left before it was corrected.

“Who's the new guy?” Sam asked, flying lower, due to the short ceiling space. You simply shook your head, closing your eyes. Your voice was spent, as well as your legs, and breath.

“Shit!” Sam shouted, and you opened your eyes, seeing the ceiling collapse in front of you. You stretched your arms out, creating darkness and keeping the chunks of cement in the air long enough for you and Sam to tumble out and to the ground, then let it fall, blocking the path. You remained on the hard ground, trying to get your breath back as you listened to sounds of sirens and squealing tires.

“Move!” Sam said, pulling you up in time and diving with you to the side just as a van came rolling right passed where you would have been laying. You nodded a thanks to Sam and saw Bucky on the ground with the strange man standing over him.

You were about to tackle him when Steve ran past you and did just that, throwing him away from Bucky.

You stood on shaky legs, turning in a circle as you watched police cars and vans screech to a halt, surrounding the five of you. A helicopter circled overhead as you and Sam moved closer to Steve, protecting each other. Black dots were spotting your vision, but you still saw the Iron Patriot land in front of you, holding his hands up, the palms glowing.

“Stand down, now.” Rhodey’s voice projected from the suit. Steve held his arm out over Bucky, a signal not to move.

You could hear your heartbeat in your ears, and you silently leaned on Sam, and he held you, letting you catch your breath. You looked at all the cars, and all those guns pointed at you, Sam, Steve, and Bucky.

You looked at Rhodey, and he was turned to you, and you could feel the disappointment seeping off of him.

Steve put his shield on his back, and the man in all black looked around. Now that he was closer, you could see all the little silver designs on him, a necklace design on his collarbone reminded you of Loki’s armor.

You managed a chuckle, seeing that he had black cat ears on the top of his head.

“Congratulations, Cap.” Rhodey said, which made you turn to him, “You’re a criminal.”

The police with guns rushed towards the four of you, going around in the man in the cat-suit. Two men grabbed you roughly and pulled you away from Sam— a pair of hands at your shoulders, and a pair grabbing your arms, forcing you to the ground on your stomach, causing you to scrape the side of your face, and you let out a hiss.

“Watch it.” Steve said at your defense, being forced down as well. You heard the heavy click of handcuffs being placed on you, then you were yanked up onto your knees, getting a bad vertigo spin. You saw the cat man slowly raise is arms, and begin to twist off his helmet.

 _Now we get to know who's behind the mask!_ The voice of Fred from the tv show Scooby Doo said in your head.

He pulled off the helmet and he looked at the three of you. It was T’Challa, the prince— now king of Wakanda.

 _That’s definitely not Old Man Jenkins_ , you thought before slumping forward and passing out.

 

 


	59. “I’d Hate To Break Up the Set”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so so so so so sorry for the long wait!! Here's the next chapter, don't worry, I'm not abandoning this fic!! Thank you for your continued support! <3 <3 <3

 

When you woke up you had a throbbing headache, and you were in a car, the sound of sirens were blaring. You let out a groan; every joint of yours was sore, and your face was stinging from the cement burn. At least, for some reason, you weren’t handcuffed anymore. Your arms and legs stung as well.

“Hey, you okay?” Steve asked. You didn’t open your eyes, but you could feel that he was behind you.

“No.” You said bitterly, “Unlike you and Bucky _I_ don’t have a super-serum in me that makes me impervious to things and jump super far. I don’t know about you, but I was shot at. Unless bullets bounce off of you.” You grumbled. You let out a breath. “Sorry.”

“It's fine.” Steve said quietly.

You kept your eyes closed, feeling the car make a right turn.

“So, you like cats?” You heard Sam say. So the cat guy— King T’Challa was in here? You opened your eyes and looked around. You were strapped in your seat securely, and you had the long booth seat to yourself, as did Sam, and T’Challa.

“Sam.” Steve sighed.

“What?” Sam asked, “Dude shows up dressed like a cat, you don't wanna know more?”

“You have wings on a jet-pack.” You told him, looking at the bars on the window.

“Your suit,” Steve asked the king, “it’s Vibranium?”

T’Challa turned his head, “The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. Because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of a king. So I ask you as both a warrior and king,” he turned around and looked Steve dead in the eye, “How long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?”

The car you were in began to go in a tunnel underground. The car pulled into a side tunnel and the four of you were let out, and your suitcases shoved into your arms, a few soldiers telling you to change. You looked around, right here? There wasn’t a room or any spot private— except T’Challa was allowed to go to the other side of the van for privacy, and no soldier followed him.

You huffed a sigh, dropping your bag on the floor and zipping it open, rifled through it, then pulled out a pair of jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. You glanced over Sam and Steve, who were already half undressed. You unzipped your uniform and slipped your right arm out, and tenderly tried pulling your left arm out of the sleeve, hissing when the blood stuck the rubber to your skin and pulled on your long cuts from the bullets.

Your hand shook and your left arm was on fire with pain as you managed to peel the sticky material off of you. Sam offered to help and you nodded, he went to you and carefully held your skin as you removed your arm from your sleeve. You said a shaky thanks and leaned against the van, gasping slightly from the coldness to take off the lower half of your suit, sliding it off along with the built in boots. Your back ached as you tugged off your suit.

You could feel the soldiers eyes on you, both on your curves and the scar, the meeting point where your metal arm joined your collarbone.

You painfully pulled the jeans over the bullet lacerations on your legs, buttoning them up. You asked Sam for help again, getting your shirt on. When you flexed your arm the wrong way, your arm flared in pain. Sam helped you with your shirt and you bent down, plucking up your leather jacket with the hood, then finally put on your boots, deciding to do the laces later.

A soldier grabbed your uniform and shoved it into your suitcase, closed it, and told the three of you to get back into the van; which you willingly did. A few minutes and turns later the van came to another stop in a large area where many people— most men with large guns— were milling about.

You followed Sam out of the car and looked over your team. You followed Steve’s gaze and saw Bucky strapped down in a large, metal chair, encased in a glass and steel box on wheels.

“What’s gonna happen to him?” Steve asked, walking up to Sharon and the man next to him, who looked exactly like that actor from BBC Sherlock. _Martin Freeman_ , the voice in your head said.

“Same thing that should happen to you.” He said, he was American. Three guards in protective suits and guns stood behind the two blondes. “Psychological evaluation and extradition.”

“This is Everett Ross.” Sharon said, walking down a hall towards your group, “He’s the Deputy Task Force Commander.”

“See their weapons are placed in lockup.” Everett said, “We’ll write you a receipt.”

You watched as a few guards walked by, Steve’s shield, Sam’s jet-pack, and your guns left you. Your blood boiled, but you kept your face emotionless.

“But you.” Everett said, and you looked at him, “You have another weapon.” You spread your arms,

“I don’t. You can check me if you want.” You let your arms fall to your sides.

Everett chuckled, “Oh, yes you do.” He mimicked you shooting your hands out, using your powers.

He stopped and smoothed his tie, “You _are_ a weapon.”

“You’re not taking her.” Sam said.

“Oh, no, we wouldn’t dream of it. You could take us all out if you wanted to.”

 _So then what was the conversation about?_ You wondered.

Sharon and Everett began to walk, and so did the three of you, along with T’Challa. The large group you were in walked across a long hallway with glass wall, suspended over a river to the other half of the building.

“You'’l be provided with an office instead of a cell. Now do me a favor, stay in it.” Everett said. You glanced behind you, three guards were following close behind you. They weren’t spread out as if guarding the entire group, they were guarding _you_.

“I don’t intend on going anywhere.” T’Challa said.

You saw Natasha up ahead walking towards you, and you fought the urge to wave. She stopped next to Steve and walked with him and you heard her say, “This is what making things worse looks like.”

You sighed.

“He’s alive.” Steve said. And you all knew that if your team hadn’t interfered, Bucky would be so very much dead.

 

 

The living quarters side of Avengers H.Q. was quiet, as it mostly was. And Vision was the babysitter. He couldn't watch both Loki and Wanda, so he brought them together. And the three of them were laying “Trouble”. The board and pieces were sitting on the coffee table, and the three of them were sitting on the couch. Wanda popped the center, causing the die inside it to jump and land on a four. She hovered her hand over the board, and her blue piece began to glow red and float four spaces forward, then landed in the slot. Loki watched her while she did that, holding back a laugh.

He could do that ever since he was a child. “Can you do anything else with you powers?” He asked. If what she had displayed was all she could do, he _would_ laugh.

It was Vision's turn and he popped the center as well, and the die jumped to a six.

“I can fly,” Wanda said, “and I can control minds.”

Loki looked up at her, intrigued. “What about you?” She asked.

“I can do that, and much more.” Loki said, popping the dome and moving his yellow piece that many amount of spaces.

Vision had told Wanda a little of Loki’s history, and why he was here. Vision had also told her about you and Loki. And Wanda had a plan to... get you off her back.

She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward and said teasingly, pouting her lips ever so slightly, “Well, I suppose you’ll have to teach me.”

 

 

“Consequences?” Steve asked. Your uncle walked up to you, Sam, and Steve.

“How could you bring (Y/n) into this?” He asked the men.

“I wanted to, Tony. Steve gave me the option to not help.”

He turned and pointed at you, “You are making a lot of bad mistakes lately.” He was pushing you.

“You cannot tell me what to do,” you said in an even voice, “I am a grown woman and I don’t live under your roof anymore. I can help people if I want to.” You and Tony glared at each other before he finally turned away.

“Secretary Ross wants the three if you prosecuted.”

“I’m not getting my shield back, am I?” He asked. While you were boiling on the inside, how could Steve be so calm? Natasha went with your uncle as he walked away.

“Technically it’s government property. Wings, too.” She said over her shoulder.

“That’s cold.” Sam said, shaking his head.

“Warmer than jail.” Tony said. You kicked the smooth floor with your boot, sending a glare at your uncle’s back.

Steve walked into the office/prison Sharon escorted the three of you into. It was a large glass box with a desk and several chairs. You looked through the glass, looking at the monitors.

After a few minutes of milling inside like ants, Tony showed up again, “Hey, you wanna see something cool?” You let out a internal sigh and turned to face him. He had his suit jacket on one arm, and he was holding a rectangular box in his other hand. “I pulled something from dad’s archives. Felt timely.”

Steve sat down at the table. You and Sam remained standing, your arms crossed. Tony dropped his jacket on a chair and opened the box, placing it in front of Steve. You’ve seen those old pens before.

“Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease bill in 1941 with those.” You said, recalling how many tomes Tony had told you had story.

Your uncle nodded to you, then turned back to the man in the chair, “Provided support to the allies when they needed it most.”

“Some would say it brought our country closer to war.” Steve said.

On this story, you agreed with your uncle.

“I’m trying to... what do you call it?” Tony looked to you and Sam, then back to Steve. He sighed, then sat down across from Steve.

“Is Pepper here?” Steve asked, looking through the glass wall, and you immediately shook your head. “I didn’t see her.”

“We’re kinda... well, not kinda...”

“Pregnant?” Steve asked, and

Sam choked a scoff, turning around.

“No. Definitely not.” Tony said quickly.

“Steve, just drop it, it doesn’t matter.” You said, uncrossing your arms.

“It’s fine,” Tony said, “we’re on a break. It’s no ones fault.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Steve said, looking sympathetic.

Tony stood, walking to the wall and looking at the people at the computers, “In her defense, I’m a handful. Yet dad was a pain in the ass and mom made it work.”

“I’m glad Howard got married. I only knew him when he was young and single.” Tony scoffed,

“Oh really, the two of you knew each other? He’s never said anything about that. God, I hated you.”

You found that weird of him to say.

“We don’t mean to make things difficult.” Steve said.

You turned to Sam and whispered, “This is weird. They’re not...”

He nodded, “Yeah, I know.”

“If I see a situation pointed south, I can’t ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could.” Steve said, turning to face Tony as he put on his suit jacket.

“No you don’t.” Tony said.

Steve scoffed, “No, I don’t.”

“Sometimes... I want to punch you in your perfect teeth.” Tony said, and you frowned. “But I don’t want to see you gone. We need you, Cap. We need all of you.” He said, addressing you and Sam as well, “So far, nothing happened that can’t be undone if you sign. We can make the last twenty-four hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-center,” Tony bargained, “instead of a Wakandan prison.”

Steve slowly picked up the pen from the box and stood up with it. “I’m not saying it was impossible, but there would be safeguards.”

Wait, was he deciding on signing?

“Sure. Once we put out the PR fire, those documents can be amended.” Tony sat down, “I’ll file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated—”

“Wanda? What about Wanda?”

“She’s fine. She’s confined to the compound, currently, along with,” Tony looked at you, “you know who. Vision's keeping them company.”

You let out a breath of air. Tony hadn't turned Loki in... yet.

“God, Tony.” Steve turned away, “Every time I think you see things the right way—”

“It’s a hundred acres with a lap pool. It’s got a screening room—”

“There is definitely a worse way to have people protected.” You said to Steve.

He huffed, “Protection?” He looked at your uncle, “Is that how you see this? This is protection?”

“She’s not a U.S. citizen.”

“Oh come on, Tony.”

You looked away awkwardly.

“They don’t grant visas to weapons of mass destruction!”

“She’s a kid!” Steve snapped.

“Give me a break! I’m doing what has to be done. To stave off something worse.”

You could see that crack growing wider; with Steve on one side, and Tony on the other side.

“You keep telling yourself that.” Steve looked at the pen in his hands, then tossed it on the table to join its twin, “I’d hate to break up the set.”

But you had a feeling a different set was broken.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone should check on Wanda and Loki...


	60. ’Cause You Had A Bad Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go babes!

 

“Like this?” Wanda asked, pushing her red energy into the small house plant. Loki was trying to teach her how to make the plant grow quicker, and she was failing miserably.

Loki was demonstrating on another plant, making the vines spill over the pot. “My powers are different than yours.” Loki said, the most Wanda could do is make the leaves wither.

“But perhaps my powers have the roots as yours do.” Wanda suggested, removing her hold on the plant. She had gotten Vision to leave her and Loki alone by asking him to go out and get some food only found in her home country. “But you are not of Earth, are you?” Wanda asked, drawing closer to the bar stool he sat on.

Loki was wearing a dark green sweater that hugged him perfectly, with a pair of jeans.

She crossed to the other side of bar.

“No.” Loki said, turning and watching her place a bottle of whiskey on the bar, along with two glass cups.

“So you’re an alien?”

“To me, you're the extraterrestrial,” Loki sighed, “but yes.”

Wanda placed her hands on wood and boosted herself up to sit on the bar, her back facing the prince. She unscrewed the top of the bottle and poured herself and Loki a cup, then handed him his.

“Thanks.” He murmured, then hesistantly took a sip.

“Do you ever do missions?” Wanda asked, turing her entire body around to face him, her knees bumped Loki’s shoulder. Her skirt rode up past her knees.

“I used to.” Loki said, swirling the amber drink and trying not to look at her thighs.

“So what happened?” Wanda asked.

Loki began to shrug, but then his he pulled his lips into a thin line, “I was compromised.”

Wanda nodded, setting down her drink. She wasn’t too fond of the taste. “I’m sorry.” She said, resting her hand on his shoulder. Loki froze, then grabbed her wrist, looking up at her.

“I know what you’re trying to do.” He said in a low voice.

Wanda slid off the bar, standing next to him. She let out a sigh, looking him up and down, then put her free hand on his other forearm. Wanda leaned in between his long legs, “Then why don’t you stop me?” She whispered, running her hand down his chest, feeling his muscles underneath the fabric. She brushed her lips against his, teasingly slow, and heard him suck in a breath, a hot feeling growing inside of both of them.

Why wasn’t Loki stopping her? He loved you, he loved you...

Loki released her hand as Wanda caught his lips in a kiss, closing her eyes and pressing her hands against his chest.

Loki loved you, he did, he swore to the universe he loved you...

Wanda deepened the kiss, and Loki rested his hands on her hips, and kissed her back.

He hadn’t... it had been such a long time since anyone.... since you...

Wanda moved her hand to tangle it in his dark hair as she moaned quietly in his mouth.

He suddenly felt that he wasn’t alone, and he felt that invasive prod in his head; she was trying to read his mind.

At that Loki shook his head and pushed her away, getting out of his seat angrily. He opened his mouth to say something, to insult her, hurt her, but he found a cat had his silver-tongue. He was huffing, then grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her against the bar, and she looked up at him with fearful eyes.

“You have no idea of who you’re playing with,” Loki growled, “your pathetic powers are no match for mine, and I can do more than you ever imagine. And if you tell anyone, _anyone_ about this, you will wish you died with your brother.” Then he released her and stormed back to his room, frustrated in more than one way.

Where were you?

 

 

Suddenly every light, television, and camera in the whole building was out, plunging everyone into darkness. A few red emergency lights that were hooked up to a generator were going, but everyone was scrambling to get the power back on.

“What the hell?” Sam asked.

You turned to Sharon as she said, “East wing, sub-level five.” And you, Sam, and Steve were running, until a firm arm wrapped around you from behind. You elbowed them in the stomach as you watched Steve and Sam continue on and disappear around a corner. This was your best chance to save Bucky, and this person—

you were suddenly on your knees, your arms pulled almost painfully behind you. “Relax.” The voice said; it was Natasha.

 

 

“Why don’t we discuss your home?” Zemo asked, dropping the American accent and the act of a psychiatrist, “Not Romania. Certainly not Brooklyn. I mean your real home.” He pulled out a small flashlight and a thin book, the Winter Soldier book from his suitcase and stood up. Emergency lights were going off in this room, too. Zemo took off his glasses and placed them on the table. He opened the book and turned on the flashlight, and began to approach the container Bucky was in.

“ _Longing_.” Zemo started in Russian.

“No.” Bucky whimpered.

“ _Rusted_.”

Bucky let out a shaky breath, balling his fists, “Stop.”

“ _Seventeen_.”

“Stop.” Bucky said darkly.

“ _Daybreak_.”

At that Bucky started to scream, feeling himself slip away, and that other person— that _monster_ begin to enter.

“ _Furnace_.” Zemo continued, watching Bucky rip his left arm free of the metal restraint, and release his other.

“ _Nine_.”

Bucky started punching the glass, the thick, bulletproof glass.

“ _Bengin_.”

Bucky was hitting it repeatedly, and a small spiderweb of a crack appeared.

“ _Homecoming_.”

Bucky panted, feeling his anger blow up, still hitting the glass and panting. The door was creaking from the hits.

“ _One_.”

One more hit. One mor—

“ _Freight car._ ”

And he put every ounce of power he had into his punch, and the door flew off, thudding and scraping against the floor.

The man inside the box stepped out.

Zemo cautiously stepped closer. The man’s blue eyes were darker, and he stood there menacingly, a killer, glaring straight ahead.

“Soldier?” Zemo asked in English.

“Ready to comply.” The Winter Soldier said in a low voice.

Finally.

Zemo held back a smile as he said, “Mission report. December 16th, 1991.”

 

 

“Nat. Let me go.” You growled.

She pulled you up to your feet and turned you to face her. She had your right arm twisted behind your back and her other hand in your hair, bending you backwards. If she tipped you lightly and let go, you would fall.

“Let me go, Natasha.” You snapped, glaring into her calm green eyes. Tony came and tapped her on the shoulder, and she released you, and you backed away from her angrily, bumping into a worker.

“It’s too dangerous for you.” Tony said.

“Too dangerous?” You asked, malice laced in your words,

“When was it ever too dangerous for me? It certainly wasn’t when you let me go to As—”

“Where?” Tony had his hand up to his ear, listening to the Bluetooth he had.

"Got it." Then he lowered his hand and started walking, and you and Nat followed.

“He’s in the courtyard.” Tony said

“Please tell me you brought a suit.” Natasha said.

“Yep.” Tony said, weaving around the agents, “It’s a nice Tom Ford, three-piece, two button. I’m an active duty non-combatant, of course I didn’t bring a suit.”

You rolled your eyes.

Sharon ran up to the three of you and said, “Follow me.”

 

 

You heard the sounds of grunting and yells; among the sounds of things crashing.

“Wait here.” Tony said, touching his watch and pressed a small button. It started to open, panels revealing themselves as he pulled it over with his left hand, the watch building into an Iron Man glove around your uncle’s hand.

He stepped out from the corner and held his palm out to Bucky, and the assassin winced, and you saw the glass windows quiver. You watched your uncle run up closer to him and throw his hand up and a bright flash went went, causing even you to look away. When you looked back you saw Bucky crouched down, then he jumped back up and grab for Tony. You saw your uncle grab and miss for the gun Bucky had. Then Bucky pointing the barrel right at Tony’s face and you jumped out of the your spot as he pulled the tigger, but there was a dull explosion— and Tony had his gloved hand around the tip of the gun. Tony whipped Bucky across the face with the magazine he had snatched, which made Bucky elbow him hard in the face and kicked him square in the stomach, sending Tony flying into the table.

You shot a mass darkness at Bucky, tripping him and watching his fall hard on the floor.

 _Nobody_ messed with your family. Bucky sprang forward and grabbed your ankle just as you dodged away, and pulled you to him as he punched you in your side, knocking the wind out of you.

You kicked him in the face and rolled away and stood. Bucky quickly got up and rushed to you as well, throwing a fist that soared past your nose, not three inches away. You ducked down and landed a solid punch with into his gut and he staggered back, but quickly recovered and landed a punch to the side of your face which felt like a someone hit you with a metal baseball bat, and had your head ringing and stars explode in your eyes.

You dropped to your knees and slid in between his legs, ready to trip him, but due to the sudden impact on your head, you were disoriented, and he grabbed your arm and flipped you over his shoulder, but you had wrapped a leg around his neck and were now sitting on his shoulders.

You saw Natasha run out from her spot as Bucky reached up and grabbed your waist with a bruising grip, and Nat kicked him in the stomach, and the two of you almost toppled over, except Bucky kept his footing. You jostled on his shoulders as he grabbed Natasha’s ankle and flipped her in the air, and she fell into the wall with a thud, you tightened your leg around his throat and created a short wall out of darkness behind his feet, and suddenly leaned backwards. He tripped backwards and the two of you crashed to the floor, both of you letting out a short, pained cry.

Just as he got up again, a man swung down from a balcony and swung his feet solidly into Bucky’s chest, sending him flying.

You saw that it was T’Challa, but you were in too much pain to get up. You heard the two men fighting, along with the clatter of tables.

 _Get up, get up, get up_ , you told yourself, but your muscles weren’t responding. Your breaths came out in painful puffs as you lay on your back, staring up at the celling. Within a few seconds the sounds of fighting were farther away, and you finally were able to sit up, taking survey of the damage around you, your body screaming in pain as you got to your wobbly feet.

There were dozens of men on the ground, hopefully unconscious and not dead. You let out a cry of pain each time you took a breath; you were sure you had broken a rib, and a few tears slipped from your eyes. Your powers were spent, and you leaned on a table, vomiting painfully onto the floor a mixture containing some blood.

You wiped your mouth with the napkins on the table as you heard the very faint sound of people screaming, but you didn’t care about that.

“Tony?” You called out, clutching your right side. Blood dripped out of your mouth as you spoke. You couldn’t tell which groans belonged to who, so you started the oh-so agonizing stumbling walk to where you had seen your uncle fall. You looked around, and you couldn’t feel your face because it was numb, and then you saw him. He was on his back, he had landed on a chair and table and knocked those over, too. But you could see him breathing, and that was good.

“Sam? Steve?” You asked over the communications.

“(Y/n)? You got him?” Sam asked.

“No.” You breathed, wincing. You turned around and started hobbling back to where you had been, “I need... we need to get out of here.” You felt a trickle of blood run down from your mouth. There was a door ahead of you.

“I’m a little... busy.” Steve's voice chimed in, he sounded strained.

“I’m outside.” Sam said, “Where are you, (Y/n)?”

“Courtyard.” You groaned.

“You gotta meet me here, Sam.” You finally crossed the room and pushed on the door, but you were too weak. You slid down the wall and fell painfully, several spots on your body lit up in pain. You looked up through the glass skyline, “There’s a tower. It’s got a... an orange... thing on it.” You wheezed.

“Got it. I’ll be there soon.” Sam responded, and you let out a heavy breath. The pain in your face was a throbbing punch over and over again, and you were dizzy now.

A few minutes in silence passed, and you heard the sound of running footsteps. You looked around with your eyes, and you finally saw Sam.

“Christ.” He said, crouching down and carefully putting his arms around you, and slowly helped you stand. You let out a cry, more tears slipping down your face; moving your arm triggered your side and rib to hurt. You explained to him where it hurt, and he nodded, promising to get you medicine. You put your left arm around Sam’s shoulders, and he helped you leave the building.

 

 

You were in so much pain, your entire body was throbbing. You slipped into unconsciousness as soon as Sam set you down in that bench in the warehouse.

Everything was black, and there was no sound.

You were out.

Some sort of peace, at last.

Sam did as much as he could for your wounds with the materials nearby, then contacted Steve, and found that he had Bucky, and Sam told the captain where they were.

It was an hour later when Steve stumbled in, carrying an unconscious Bucky. Sam then raced out to find medical supplies.

Steve lowered Bucky to the ground and let out a breath. He was hot and sweaty, and still soaked from when the helicopter fell into the reservoir. He looked at you, then walked over and knelt beside you. He felt like he was back on Asgard, looking at your dead body, but you were breathing now, and that was a huge relief. Guilt entered his mind as he found a chair and pulled it over to the large, old crusher machine.

He shouldn’t have asked for your help. He should have dealt with it with Sam. And because of that, you were hurt.

Steve grunted as he picked Bucky’s torso up and dragged him to the chair and sat him in it. Steve lifted the metal arm and placed it on the table, then turned on the machine and slowly brought the large square down on Bucky’s arm, just enough to hold him in place.

You let out a painful groan from the bench, and Steve rushed to you. “(Y/n)?”

You let out a choking groan in response as Steve knelt beside you.

You tried to sit up, but you let out a painful scream and Steve helped you lay back down, gently shushing you. His throat still hurt from when Bucky had grabbed him there. “Sam went to get medicine.” Steve said, his voice cracking. He watched sadly as a few tears of pain ran down your face and you let out a whimper. You parted your bloody mouth and raised your left hand to cover it as you coughed painfully, which started a minute cycle of trying to get the blood out of your lungs.

When you finally stopped coughing, Sam was back and at your side, carefully placing a bag of ice on the right side of your chest. It hurt at first, but then you welcomed the coldness. You suddenly had a pang of longing; longing for Loki, and you started to cry, your sobs hurting your chest.

“Where else does it hurt?” Sam asked, using a clean towel and a spray bottle of water to clean the dirt from your face.

You shook your head. You were missing Loki so much, you needed him.

You cried out as Sam accidentally touched the side of your face Bucky had punched. “Sorry, sorry.” He apologized. He pulled a small ice bag from the cooler and tenderly pressed it to your cheek.

The coldness reminded you of Loki, and you missed him so much. You wished he was here taking care of you, whispering the comforting words Sam was, but Loki wasn’t. And that’s when you realized you truly loved him again.

 

 

A few minutes later you had fallen asleep again. Sam deemed it safe for you to do so, seeing that your eyes were fine, and that you didn’t suffer from a concussion, thank god. He and Steve talked quietly about what the next plan was.

An hour passed and you woke up again, exhausted and hungry. Sam fed you a few ice cubes from your laying position, and you let them melt in your mouth, as it hurt too much to chew.

“What happened to Bucky?” You asked, swallowing the cold water.

“Right over there.” Sam said, nodding behind you. You then gave the assassin the finger, and Sam chuckled.

“He’s asleep, Steve’s watching him.” Sam fished another ice cube out and gave it to you.

You lowered your arm, “Let me know when he’s up, then.” You said, swirling the piece of ice in your mouth. Another hour or two passed with small talk between you and Sam before you heard a shuddering groan behind you. Sam got up and left your field of vision.

“Steve.” Bucky groaned.

At that you lifted your hand and flipped him off.

“Which Bucky am I talking to?” You heard Steve asked.

There was a pause, “Your mom’s name was Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.” Bucky said.

“Can’t read that in a museum.” Steve said.

“Oh, fuck off.” You snapped, lowering your hand.

“Yeah, we’re supposed to be cool just like that?” Sam asked.

There was a sharp intake of air, “I’m sorry.” Bucky said, and you scoffed.

“Everyone’s going to need a lot more than I’m sorry.” You said, glaring up at the rafters. “You fucking decked me, and it felt like a metal baseball bat hit me in my fucking face.” You said sharply, “I can imagine what it was like for everyone else you fought.”

There was a sigh, “I knew this would happen. Everything Hydra put in me is still there.” Bucky said, “All he had to say were the damn words.”

“Then why did you leave the H.Q. in the first place, knowing there was a chance something like this could happen?” Sam asked, crossing his arms.

“Who was he?” Steve queried.

“I don’t know.”

“People are dead, the bombing, this whole setup, the guy did all that to get ten minutes alone with you, you have to do better than ‘I don’t know’.”

There was a pause, and then Bucky cleared his throat, “He wanted to know about where I was kept, in Siberia. He wanted to know _exactly_ where.”

“We followed the files that you had left open at the H.Q. but we couldn’t figure out why you were gone. Why would he need to know where you were kept?” Steve asked.

“Because I’m not the only Winter Soldier.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Loki...


	61. Blood Is Thicker Than Water... Sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My deepest apologies for taking so long, but here's another chapter! This story will not be thrown away!!

 

“I left the H.Q. to find out exactly what he wants to know; if there’s anymore Winter Soldiers left.” If there were more people like Bucky, having the same fighting strength and techniques, and were involved with Zemo and sent to kill Bucky, you were going to die before the sun went down.

 

 

“They’re the most elite death squad.” Bucky was saying, but you were focused on trying not to puke. Sam was kneeling beside you, giving you relaxing touches in an attempt to calm you down. “More kills than anyone in Hydra history, and that was before the serum.” You felt a cold sweat come over you, and you somehow felt hot at the same time. You ran your metallic fingers over your closed eyes. “You’re gonna be fine.” Sam whispered, but you shook your head. Nothing was going to be fine. “Did they all turn out like you?” Sam asked Bucky, the man beside you grabbed a cloth and gently wiped the sweat from your forehead. “Worse.” Bucky said, and you let out a groan. You let out a deep breath that hurt your ribs, and slowly sat up with Sam’s aid. Steve looked over to you and asked with his eyes if you were okay. You simply look away with a huff, your body shaking. You hoped that you weren’t ill from any bacteria, and this was only nerves making you frightened, because you would not be able to fight those enhanced soldiers, no way in Hell or Heaven. “The man said he wanted to see an empire fall.” Steve said. You let out a painful hiss as you turned on the bench to look at Bucky. His eyes met yours briefly before looking back to the floor and nodding, “With these guys, he could do it. They speak thirty languages, and hide in plain sight. Infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize... they could take a whole country down and they would’ve never known what hit them.” You chewed on your lower lip, your side pulsing with pain. Sam got up from your side and went to Steve, talking quietly. You shook your head, looking at your shoes. “You know that it wasn’t me, right?” Bucky asked. You gritted your teeth. Your literal and metaphorical wounds were still open, and you weren’t in the mood for accepting apologies. But this was like Asgard again. And you knew deep down it wasn’t him.

You nodded.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was gravelly and thick as he swallowed his tears. You rubbed your right hand over your face. This was going to be a long mission. Sam then said something to Steve that made you look up: “I know a guy.”

 

 

“So you don’t have any clue of where they are?” Secretary Ross asked. Tony sighed, “We will. GSG’s got the borders covered, recons flying twenty-four seven. They’ll get a hit, we’ll handle—”

“You don’t understand, Stark. It is not yours to handle. Not anymore. It’s clear you can’t be objective. I’m putting special ops on this one.”

“So what happens when the shooting starts?” Natasha asked from the chair she was in, “What, you kill Steve Rogers?”

“And my niece?” Tony added, pacing in a large circle.

“If we’re provoked.” Ross said firmly, “Your niece has powers we have very little information on, because you haven’t listed her in any files—”

Tony opened his mouth, but Secretary Ross shut him up, “before her accident, when she first became an Avenger.” Ross looked in between Natasha and Tony, “Barnes would have been taken down if it wasn’t for the three of them. There are dead people who would be alive now.”

Tony sat down in the chair by the long wooden table.

Ross went on, “Feel free to check my math.”

“All due respect, you’re not gonna solve this with bullets and boys, Ross.” Tony said directly, “You gotta let us bring them in.”

“How will that end any differently than it did the last time?”

“Because this time I won’t be wearing loafers and a silk shirt. We’ll get them in seventy-two hours, guaranteed.”

“Thirty-six hours.” Ross corrected.

He needed the three of you in a spot where he could see you best: a cell. And soon, before your small group made a mess.

“Barnes.” Ross said to remind them, leaving Tony and Natasha, “Wilson. Rogers. Stark.” He left the room and turned down a hall.

“Thank you, sir.” Tony said, trying to conceal his shaky breath. His body was feeling cold and numb. You were out there, his very own niece he had taken care of since birth, the little girl who used to love drawing dragons and unicorns. You were out there, and he was tasked in taking you in as a prisoner.

Tony lowered his head and pressed his hand against his chest, letting out a deep breath. Back at the pavilion seconds after Barnes sent him flying, you had came out and fought him. Tony didn’t know what to make of that, except that you could have been protecting your uncle.

But you were a grown-up now, as you had reminded him time and time again.

You made your decision, and it was time for you to deal with the consequences.

Natasha stood and crossed the room, putting her hand on Tony’s shoulder, a few inches away from his shirt that was lightly splattered with his own blood.

“You all right?” She asked gently.

Tony nodded, “Always.” He lied.

Nat removed her hand and crossed her arms.

“Thirty-six hours.” Tony sighed.

“We’re seriously understaffed.” Nat commented.

Tony nodded, leaning back in his chair, “It would be great if we had a Hulk, right now. Any shot?” Tony wasn’t oblivious to how he had seen Nat and Bruce getting closer to one another during the whole Ultron mess.

Nat smirked and said, “You really think he’d be on our side?”

“No.” Tony said honestly.

There was a pause before Nat calmly said, “I have an idea.”

“Me too. Where’s yours?” Tony asked, looking up at her.

“Downstairs. Where’s yours?” Tony smirked.

 

 

QUEENS

 

 

The teen boy inserted his key into the lock, turned it, then opened his apartment door. In his left hand he carried a nice keyboard he found by a dumpster; there were two or three keys missing, but he could easily find a replaceable for them. He pulled his house key out from the lock as he entered his shared apartment, taking off his book-bag and placing it on the floor as he shut the door with his foot.

“Hey, Aunt May.” He said, passing his aunt on the couch as he headed for the kitchen. He set his keyboard on the dining table next to the plastic laundry basket and pulled out his earbuds.

“How was school today?”

“It was okay.” School was school, “But there’s this crazy car parked... out... side...”

He had finally glanced at his aunt May, and did a double take, then stopped in his tracks. Next to her, on their couch was Tony.

Tony Stark.

Inventor and Avenger.

In his apartment.

Right now.

Eating a cookie only May could have made.

Tony Stark.

He shut his mouth, he had probably looked like a suffocating fish. “Hello, Mr. Parker.” Tony greeted.

He stuttered, trying to say _anything_. “What... wh-what are you...? Hey,” he chuckled nervously, then crossed his arms, “uh, I-I’m Peter.” Peter Parker finally managed.

“Tony.” Tony said, amused by the teen’s flustered response.

“What’re you.... what— what are you doing here?” Peter asked.

“It’s about time we met.” Tony said. Tony Stark wanted to meet him? _The_ Tony Stark? “You’ve been getting my emails, right?”

Peter frowned, “Uh...”

That’s when Tony winked, and Peter slowly nodded. “Yeah, yeah.” Peter said, glancing to his aunt.

“You didn’t tell me about the grant.” Aunt May grinned.

“About the grant.” Peter repeated dumbly. Grant?

“The September Foundation.” Tony said.

“Right.” Peter said, completely lost in this lie.

“Remember when you applied?” Tony continued.

Just keep agreeing.

“Yeah.” Peter said.

“I approved, so now we’re in business.” Tony took a mug and drank from it, giving Peter a pointed look to go along.

“But you didn’t tell me anything.” May said to her nephew.

“Well I know how much you love surprises...” Peter said weakly,

“Anyways, what did I apply for, again?”

“That’s what I’m here to hash out.” Tony said quickly, then looked to May, “Can I have five minutes with him?”

She nodded with a smile, “Sure.”

 

 

Tony shut and locked the door to Peter’s small bedroom and found a small garbage bin and spat the cookie out. Tony looked at the old computer Peter had running on his desk, “Retro tech, huh? Thrift store? Salvation Army?”

“The, uh garbage actually.” Peter said nervously. He should have cleaned up his room before he went to school, _why didn’t he_? “So you’re a dumpster diver?”

“Yeah, uh... anyway, look, um, I definitely didn’t apply for your gra—” Peter said, lowering his voice so his aunt wouldn’t hear.

“Uh, me first.” Tony said, holding up a hand.

“Okay.” Peter said quietly.

“Quick question of the rhetorical variety,” Tony pulled out his phone from the inside of his jacket, unlocked it, tapped something, and a projection appeared in the air.

Peter’s heart stopped as he saw himself, wearing his home-made suit, swinging through the city. “Um. No.” Peter said unconvincingly. Peter crossed his arms, “Wh-what do you mean?” He cringed, hearing his voice squeak up at the end of his sentence.

Another video played, he was swinging and landed on the side of a bus, and caught a car, preventing it to crash into the bigger vehicle.

“Wow. Nice catch.” Tony said, genuinely amazed, “Three thousand pounds at forty miles an hour. That’s not easy. You got ‘mad skillz’.”

How did Tony find out?

The billionaire turned off the projection and pocketed his phone. “That’s— that’s all on Youtube though, right? That’s where you found that?” Peter passed Tony to get to his computer and started searching for the video, “Because you know all that’s fake.”

Tony nodded skeptically, turning away and looking up at the ceiling. A string hung down from it: an attic space. An Tony knew exactly what was up there.

“It’s like that video...” Peter said, trying to convince Tony that it wasn’t him.

“Yeah, oh you mean those UFOs over Phoenix?”

Peter nodded, “Yeah.”

Tony reached up and grabbed the string and yanked it down, and the panel opened, and out came the cheesy red and blue ‘costume’. Peter immediately jumped and grabbed the clothes, tossing them into the nook he called a ‘closet’ and standing in front of the small area. Peter crossed his arms, leaning against the wall, “That was... uh...” He let out a breath.

Tony stepped closer to him, “You’re the Spider-ling. Crime fighting spider. You’re Spider-Boy?” He asked, trying to figure out a name.

Peter sighed, and looked at the floor awkwardly, “Spider-Man.” He corrected.

“Not in that onsie, you’re not.”

“It’s not a onsie.” Peter said sharply, walking back to his computer.

“Not for long.” Tony said, picking up the pile of red and blue, “I’m gonna cut to the chase: I’m here to ask for a favor.”

Peter turned to him, a skeptic look on his face, “You’re asking _me_ for a favor?”

Tony nodded, “And if you agree or not, I’ll keep you being Spider-ling a secret, and it’ll benefit you either way.”

Peter groaned, “It’s Spider-Man.”

 

 

There was an explosion outside of the H.Q. by the forest. Wanda looked through the window, seeing several trees in the distance on fire.

“What is it?” She asked as Vision hovered next to her.

“Stay here, please.” He requested, then phased through the wall to investigate outdoors.

She suddenly felt that someone was watching her and she whipped around, throwing her hands in the air, making a steak knife fly and hover an inch from the intruder’s forehead.

It was Clint.

He pushed the knife away, and Wanda lowered it to the table. “Guess I should have knocked.” He chuckled. He was wearing a new uniform, and had his quiver full of arrows slung over his back.

“Oh my god, what are you doing here?” Wanda asked, walking up to him.

“Disappointing my kids.” He sighed, pulling out an arrow and notching it into his bow, aiming at several sensors, which he knocked out with several arrows. “I’m supposed to go waterskiing.”

He sent one arrow flying to one side of the room, and turned a full one-hundred and eighty degrees and sunk the second special arrow into the wall. “Where’s Loki?” He asked.

“In his room. Vision locked him in there.” Loki wasn’t being cooperative, Wanda explained. Since she had forced herself on Loki, she thought she could blackmail him— which she successfully did several times, before he had an outburst, which made Vision realize he was dangerous and needed to stay locked away.

Clint lowered his bow and took Wanda’s hand, and started leading her out of the building, “Okay. Cap needs our help. Come on.”

“Clint.” Vision called out.

Clint sighed and stopped.

“You should not be here.” Vision said.

Clint then turned to Vision, “Really? I retire for, what, like five minutes and it all goes to shit.”

“Please consider the consequences of your actions.” Vision said in a neutral voice, floating towards them.

Clint shifted his weight onto his other foot, “Alright, consequences considered.” He clicked a button on his bow as Vision entered the invisible line where the two special arrows lay, and blue electricity jumped to life, shocking Vision and keeping him in place.

“Okay, now we gotta go.” Clint said, turning and sprinting down the hall. He slowed to a stop when he realized that Wanda wasn’t beside him. “It’s this way.” Clint pointed.

Wanda stayed in her spot. “I’ve caused enough problems.” Wanda said, and if you were there, you would have laughed and agreed.

Clint, the motivator, the encourager, sighed and jogged back to Wanda. “You gotta help me Wanda.” Clint said.

Vision was still entrapped in the electromagnetic and electric net.

“You want to mope, go to highschool. You wanna make amends, you get off your ass.” He said firmly.

Clint looked behind her and saw Vision blow up one of the arrows with the Infinity Stone on his forehead, and swore. Clint quickly pulled an arrow and knocked it into Vision’s chest as he rushed Clint, but the arrow flew through and Vision punched him in the face, sending him toppling.

Clint rolled to a crouch, just like how he taught you, and pulled out a baton and said, “I knew I should have stretched.” Clint jumped up and hit Vision, but it went through his chest as if Vision wasn’t there.

Vision knocked away the baton and went through him, putting Clint in a headlock. “You can’t overpower me, Clint.” Vision said, keeping a tight grip.

“I know I can’t.” He wheezed, “But Wanda can.” Clint’s words affected Wanda, and she slowly approached the two of them, a red ball of energy in between in her hands.

“Vision, that’s enough. Let him go.” She said carefully. “I’m leaving.” She spread her arms wide and she had Vision under her control. She made his state less dense, as he had done to go through walls, and Clint slipped to the floor. “I’m sorry.” Wanda said, pushing Vision down to his knees.

The floor cracked as she pushed Vision all the way down to his back. She then pushed her hands down and sent Vision hurtling through the floors of the headquarters, and deep into the earth until he became a small red dot far down.

Clint stood up and peered into the hole as Wanda lowered her hands, the energy fading. “Come on,” Clint said, taking her hand and leading her away, “we’ve got one more stop.”

 

 

Loki stared up at the ceiling, somewhat curious about the rumbling.

 

 

You sighed, watching Steve get out of the car. Your ribs were already feeling better, though sitting in this small car wouldn’t do much good. “I’m gonna get out.” You said, warning Bucky. He nodded and you climbed over him, the driver’s seat, then pushed open the door and almost toppled out. You braced yourself on the seat and crawled out, stood, then shut the door, leaving Sam and Bucky inside.

The four of you had gotten word from Sharon to meet here, under this bridge. You watched Steve approach her, and the two of them talked. You pinched the bridge of your nose and let out a breath. The car ride here had been tense, since you were the smallest one you had to sit in the back, along with Bucky, and the two of you were in terrible silence.

You looked up when you heard Sharon open the trunk of her car, and you saw Steve’s shield, and Sam’s jetpack, along with all three of your uniforms, which made you smile. You heard Bucky ask Sam something, who responded with a no. Sharon was nodding quietly and smiling. Steve nodded too. You watched as Steve suddenly reached forward and kissed Sharon. “No, no! No, no, no, no, _no_!” You said, rushing forward to them.

They pulled apart and looked at you. “Excuse me?” Sharon asked, insulted by your interruption.

You pressed your hands together and looked at Steve, “Why are you kissing her?” You asked, “Her aunt, the love of your life, _Peggy_ , hasn’t been dead for two weeks and you’re kissing her niece?”

You saw guilt in his eyes, but you didn’t care. This was a whole different level of weird.

“Thanks Sharon for all your help.” You said, taking out Sam’s jetpack and Steve’s shield, “But we got it from here.” You grabbed Steve’s arm and pulled him angrily back to the car. Bucky and Sam where laughing quietly.

 

 

“You say you know where they are?” T’Challa asked, leaning on the door of his car. Natasha nodded, “I know someone who does.”

 

 

Steve drove the small blue car to the ninth floor of the parking lot. You saw a white van was already there. Steve parked the car two spaces away and the three of you got out while Bucky stayed in the car.

You saw Clint walk around the car and you rushed to him, grinning as the two of you hugged each other. “I missed you.” You said, tightened your arms around him.

“I missed you, too.” He smiled.

The two of you pulled away, “How are the kids?” You asked.

He sighed, his face slightly down, “Was supposed to go on vacation with them to Miami... ”

You slowly nodded.

He left you to greet and hug Steve.

Your eyes landed on Wanda as she got out of the passenger side of the van. The two of you briefly made eye contact before you looked away, mildly annoyed.

“Thanks for having my back.” Steve said to Wanda.

“It was time to get off my ass.” She simply said, and you fought the urge to make a comment.

“How about our other recruit?” Steve asked, and you looked at the van.

A sliver of you hoped it was Loki.

“He’s ready to go. Had to put a little coffee in him.” Clint said.

You watched him as he went to the van and slid open the door to reveal a man with black hair sleeping on the seats.

Your heart deflated a little.

He bolted up as the door slammed open to it’s widest.

He groggily got up and out of the car. “What time zone is this?” He asked Clint.

His eyes landed on you, and they widened before slowly moving to Sam, Bucky, then Steve.

“Who’re you?” You asked.

“I’m Scott Lang.” He said, and the two of you shook hands vigorously.

His excitement made you giggle. “(Y/n) Stark. It’s an honor to meet you. I-I heard about your coma in the news and I’m happy to see you’re fine.”

“Thanks.” You chuckled, smiling.

“I’m Ant-Man.” He said. What a weird name.

He moved to shake hands with Sam and Steve. Scott shook hands with Steve for a long time, “It’s an honor.” Then after another moment of shaking Steve’s hand, he let go.

“Wow, this is awesome!” Scott said, looking at everyone.

You smiled, walking to Sam, “Where’d you find this guy?” You asked quietly.

“Broke into the H.Q. while you were comatose.”

You nodded, then had an idea.

“Ah, look, I wanna say I know you know a lot of super-people, so... thanks for thinking of me.” Scott gushed.

“What’s up, Tic-Tac?” Sam smiled.

Steve nodded to Clint and Wanda, “They tell you what we’re up against?”

“Something about some psycho-assassins?” Scott asked.

Steve nodded, “We’re outside the law on this one. So if you come with us, you’re a wanted man.”

Scott shrugged, “Yeah, well, what else is new?”

“We should get moving.” Bucky said from inside the car. You nodded.

“We got a chopper lined up.” Clint said.

Suddenly there was a voice speaking over the PA system. “They’re evacuating the airport.” Bucky translated.

“Stark?” Sam suggested.

“Stark?” Scott repeated, then looked at you, “You’re fighting your uncle?”

You sighed, “It’s complicated.”

“That must be tough.” Scott sympathized, and you nodded.

“Suit up.” Steve said.

And this began the awkward shuffle of changing in a parking lot with your friends.

 

 

“So, you break into places.” You asked Scott. His suit was sleek with red, silver, and black. His helmet did look similar to an ant’s head, minus the antennae.

The group was going to split up in a few minutes to get everyone into their places, but you wanted to talk to Scott first.

“Yep.” He said, his voice came through a small speaker, “That’s how I became Ant-Man.”

Clint was a few yards away, watching Steve, Tony and Rhodey. You nodded, “So then after all of this, I have a mission for you.” You said.

“Oh, sweet!” You could could see his eyes light up with excitement.

You explained to him, privately, what you wanted him to do, and where to go.

You wrapped up your plan quickly as Steve came up to the two of you and looked at Scott, “Ready?”

“As ready as I can be, Captain America.” Scott said. He raised his hand, then pressed a button that rested on the outside of his index finger, and he disappeared right before your eyes. You looked at where he was standing, confused.

“Down here!” You heard his faint voice say, and you looked at the ground, then carefully knelt down. He had shrunken down to, literally, the size of an ant.

“That’s really awesome.” You grinned. You watched him jump up— at his normal size, that jump would have been impossible— and he landed on Steve’s shoulder.

You stood, watching the small red and black form that was Scott run down Steve’s arm, and perch himself on the lip of his shield.

 

 

You, Steve, and a hidden Scott were sent out first to meet your uncle, to see if you and Steve could talk him down.

The area of the tarmac you and Steve were walking on was cleared, except for a few trucks and a stair-car.

The two of you looked into the sky as you heard the familiar sound of the Iron Man suit, and you saw the iconic red and gold suit fly through the air and land next to you, accompanied by Rhodey in his grey, bulkier Iron Patriot suit. You felt a pang of hurt as you watched Tony’s helmet open and retract, revealing his face; the side of which was bloody.

“Wow, it’s so weird how you run into people at the airport.” Tony said sarcastically.

“Definitely weird.” Rhodey agreed.

You saw your uncle’s eyes soften when they landed on you, then instantly turned steely and hard, and he looked to Steve, “You’re going to keep bringing her out until she’s dead, huh?”

“No, Tony.” You said firmly, “I decided to come back out.”

“Tony, hear us out.” Steve said, ending any further conversation between you and your uncle. “That psychiatrist, he’s behind all of this.”

There was a black blur to your left and you tensed up, watching T’Challa, donned in his black uniform, jump down from a helicopter.

“Captain.” He said, standing up.

“Your Highness.” You and Steve said.

Your uncle cleared his throat, and you and Steve looked to him again, “Anyways, Ross gave me thirty-six hours to bring you in. That was twenty-four hours ago, can you help a brother out?” He asked seriously.

“You’re after the wrong guy.” Steve said.

You kept your mouth shut, knowing that your anger might get the best of you, leading to you saying something wrong.

“Your judgement is askew. Your old war buddy killed those innocent people yesterday.”

You shook your head, gritting your teeth and looking at the pavement.

“And there are five more super soldiers just like him.” Steve said, raising his voice, “We can’t let the doctor find them, Tony. We can’t.”

“Steve, (Y/n).” A voice said, and the both of you looked over your shoulders; it was Natasha, “You know what’s about to happen. Do you really want to punch your way out of this one?”

“All right, I’ve run out of patience.” Tony said, and you faced him. He lifted his hands to his mouth and shouted: “Under-roos!”

There was a _thwick_ sound and Steve’s shield was yanked out of his hands by a white rope, and the same substance shot out to bind his hands together.

Webbing?

You looked up into the air to see a man clad in a red and blue suit land on the helicopter, with the tri-colored shield in hand.

“Nice job, kid.” Tony smiled, looking at his new teammate.

“Thanks.” He said, “Well, I could have stuck the landing a bit better...”

You frowned in confusion; first of all, this was a very young man, in fact, he sounded no more than seventeen years old.

“It’s just the new suit,” he lifted his hand up and waved in defense, “It’s nothing, Mr. Stark. I-it’s perfect. Thank you.”

Second of all, he was talking.

A lot.

“Yeah, we don’t really need to have a whole conversation.” Tony said, almost reading your mind.

“Okay.” ‘Under-roos’ said. He then saluted, “Cap— Captain. (Y/n). Big fan. I’m Spider-Man.”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about it later.” Tony said, still trying to get him to stop rambling.

Spider-Man waved his arm, “Hey everyone.” Tony sighed, “Good job.”

You laughed bitterly, “What is this, Tony?” You asked with a fake smile, “You were so ready to stop me from doing missions, but it seems like you didn’t bat an eye when you hired this... Spider-Man.” You looked up at him, “How old are you?”

Tony quickly lifted his hand toward Spider-Man, signaling for him not to speak. “He doesn’t have to answer that.” Your uncle said firmly.

You glanced up at Spider-Man, who was still crouched on the helicopter.

He had no idea.

“We’re done.” Tony said angrily, “The two of you are going to turn Barnes over and come with us, because it’s _us_... or a squad of J-SOC guys with no problems about being impolite.”

You looked over at Steve. You saw in his head that he wasn’t about to accept your uncle’s offer, and neither were you.

“We found it. Their quinjet is in hanger five, the northern part of the runway.” Clint said through the comms. You made a mental note of that, and so did the rest of your teammates. You all had the info, and now it was go time.

Steve lifted his bounded hands, and only seconds afterwards, Clint shot an arrow that cut right through the sticky substance.

Tony looked at you one last time, with a look of indifference.

He didn’t care.

He didn’t know you.

His protective helmet sealed around his face and he turned to look where the arrow had come from.

All of a sudden, Scott changed into his normal size and did a backflip, kicking Spider-Man in the chest and stealing Steve’s shield.

Scott landed on the pavement, and returned Steve’s item, “I believe this belongs to you, Captain America.”

After that, all hell broke loose; everything was anger and pain. Family was fighting each other, hurting each other.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crappy ending, I know. But the next chapter will be focused more on you and Loki :)


End file.
